A tracking device likely used on many cars in San Diego helped Pennsylvania police track down the man whose brazen kidnapping was caught on camera.
When 22-year-old Carlesha Freeland-Gaither was kidnapped off a Philadelphia street on Sunday, she was seen being dragged into a Ford Taurus.
Detectives say they began tracking down the suspect, Delvin Barnes, with a GPS device placed inside his car by the dealership because he had poor credit. He was later found with Freeland-Gaither in Maryland and arrested.
Brian Mackey, owner of Mike's Wholesale Inc. in El Cajon, says most businesses like his put tracking devices in cars these days.
With GPS getting cheaper – Mackey pays about $90 each – they provide an easy way to protect the dealership’s assets.
“From the get-go, it makes customers aware that there is a possibility that they'll lose their car. Plus it gives us the security to finance people with bad credit,” said Mackey.
David Cavano, manager of the Automobile Club of Southern California’s car buying service, says this type of practice is for certain types of car dealerships.
“It would not traditionally be franchise dealers. It would traditionally be that mom and pop shops that's been in business long enough to understand that people usually have good intentions but don’t always act on those intentions,” said Cavano.
Cavano says car dealerships disclose the information about a GPS up front because it puts the buyer on notice. If customers don’t make payments, dealerships can track them down and repossess their vehicle.
According to Mackey, most of his customers like the idea of the device in their car.
“They feel better. Their car is not gonna get stolen. They just feel a lot more comfortable and if they don't feel comfortable, maybe it's a sign to us dealers that maybe it’s not the customer we want to do business with,” said Mackey.
