New York criminal defense lawyers better let their clients know that law enforcement is on to some of their tricks.
The Wall Street Journal reports that there is a possible trend among criminals, especially murderers. They are sending text messages from their victims' phones to serve as an alibi.
The use of cell phones and texting to serve as an alibi is nothing new. According to a New York Times article back in 2004, cell phone technology has been used by cheating boyfriends in the past in order to have a reasonable alibi for their rightfully suspicious girlfriends.
However, it seems that criminals are also using cell phone technology in order to build alibis of their own. For example, Gary McGurkher used his girlfriend's cell phone to send his own phone a text message the night that she was murdered by him. While this is a new trend, it seems to be one that is picking up.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Chief of Nassau County Homicide, Det. Lt. John Azzata has said that there are as many as five cases pending where the alleged killers have attempted to use their victims' cell phones in order to create a plausible alibi. He told the Wall Street Journal: "It's not an uncommon practice at this point. People are taking advantage of cellphones in some nefarious ways nowadays."
Well it seems that while these New York criminals are smart, they may need an even smarter New York criminal defense attorney. What these criminals fail to realize is that there are cell phone towers that record the approximate locations of the phones at the times of the text messages. While this could be arduous for prosecutors to get a hold of because of subpoenas to private phone companies, it is possible.
And when it is possible, it is nearly impossible for a New York criminal defense attorney to refute.
Related Resources:
- Facebook Alibi: Social Media as Defense Evidence (FindLaw's Blotter Blog)
- Call A New York Criminal Defense Attorney (FindLaw)
- Criminal Procedure FAQ (FindLaw)
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