State police arrest suspect after he placed Apple AirTag on his ex's car in Indiana County
WHITE TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) - A man was taken into custody today in Indiana County after it was learned he was tracking his ex-girlfriend's car with an Apple AirTag.
The suspect, 33-year-old Danish Ali of Indiana has been charged with a felony count of criminal use of a communication facility as well as a misdemeanor count of stalking, and a summary charge of harassment.
On Wednesday, Pennsylvania State Police were contacted by the victim, a 32-year-old woman, around 8 p.m. that she had a notification on her iPhone that an Apple AirTag was attempting to connect to her phone while she was driving. The victim and her father attempted to find the AirTag but were unable to.
Troopers then searched the vehicle and found it was duct taped to the rear passenger side wheel well.
After it was taken into evidence, troopers replaced the battery and used the serial number and last four digits of the phone number connected to the AirTag. Using that information, they were able to learn that it was registered to the victim's ex, Ali.
State police then contacted Ali and interviewed him. He admitted to placing the AirTag on her car two days beforehand without her knowledge as he wanted to know her whereabouts.
Ali will have a preliminary hearing on February 11 at 10:30 a.m.
Following this incident, Pennsylvania State Police are advising people who could be victims of stalking and related crimes how to report the unlawful usage of Apple AirTags.
They advise people to take a screenshot of the tracking device notification on their phones and provide that to the police. Call 911 and report that they believe they could be having their location tracked and that someone could be following them. State police will then investigate and work to locate the device and take it as evidence. Finally, they remind people to notify their family and trusted people of what has happened.