GPS device in stolen cigarette box leads to arrest

Hagerstown, Md. (AP) – A GPS device inside a stolen carton of cigarettes led to the arrest of two robbery suspects in Maryland. The Herald-Mail of Hagerstown reports that 42-year-old Shawn Bullard and 45-year-old Warren Strouse entered pleas this week in connection with the December 2015 robbery of a Hagerstown store. Hagerstown police say they had placed GPS devices on the carton of cigarettes with the store manager’s permission following a series of robberies in November. When the robbery occurred the following month, the store clerk offered one of the suspects the box of cigarettes, which he took. Police later located the suspects after tracking the GPS signal on the carton. Bullard was sentenced to 12 years in prison with six years suspended; Strouse was sentenced to 12 years with eight years suspended.