A Baltimore man who was charged with murder in a case in which police used a controversial cellphone tracking device was acquitted of all charges by a jury last week, his attorney said Monday.
Anthony Todd, 47, was charged in the 2013 death of Kevin Gipson after police used the tracking device known as a "stingray" to locate Gipson's phone inside Todd's Northwest Baltimore home.
Todd said he had found the phone on the front porch of a vacant home. He took the stand during his trial and made the same claim.
Todd's attorney, Richard Woods, sought to suppress the phone evidence. He argued that police should have obtained permission from a judge to use the device, which he said is invasive and amounts to a search.
The stingray works by mimicking a cellphone tower to trick nearby phones to connect with it. For years, police and prosecutors kept their use of the device under wraps — even from judges and legislators — under the terms of a nondisclosure agreement they signed with the FBI.
But in recent weeks, officials have been opening up about the stingray and discussing its use in courtrooms.
In Todd's case, Assistant State's Attorney Rita Wisthoff-Ito said privacy concerns about the stingray were unfounded. Circuit Judge Timothy J. Doory agreed that the defendant couldn't complain about police deploying the device to find a stolen phone.
The case provided additional insights into how police use the stingray. A member of the Police Department's Advanced Technical Team outlined how and when police deploy the stingray without first obtaining a court order.
Gipson was killed in March 2013 in the 1100 block of Barclay St. Prosecutors said Gipson and a friend were buying drugs there from a man they knew as "Mike" when an argument erupted. Gipson was shot to death.
Two days later, police realized Gipson had a phone that had been taken. A relative had called the phone, and a man answered, saying he had found it, police wrote in court documents.
The stingray led police to Todd's home in the 4500 block of Pimlico Road. Gipson had been shot with a .22-caliber long rifle, and police initially said they found .22-caliber guns in his home.
Woods said the weapons were later determined to be inoperable starter pistols.
Police said they also found a marijuana growing operation in Todd's home. Those charges were not tried along with the murder case, and are still pending against Todd.