When the victim believed he was being followed, he made a call to police who asked him to give his car a physical inspection. After he found the device the police detectives arranged to follow him until they saw the private investigator following as well.
The GPS technology was not illegal, but Louisiana state law bans the use of a tracking device without the knowledge or consent of the person being followed.
The Times-Picayune of New Orleans
Gretna police arrested a River Ridge private investigator accused of illegally installing a tracking device on the vehicle on a man he was following. David Centanni, 38, put the GPS device on a truck belonging to an unidentified Gretna resident about two weeks ago because he was trying to serve civil paperwork, according to Gretna Police Deputy Chief Anthony Christiana.
The resident contacted police Tuesday, nervous about a man that seemed to be following him, Christiana said. Despite efforts to shake the stranger, the resident told officers the person kept showing up at various locations. The victim, who also owns a business in Gretna, was worried the person was trying to rob or harm him.
The resident couldn’t name any enemies, nor did he have any ongoing litigation. But he called back detectives later that day when he saw the stranger, again.
Detectives asked the resident to check underneath his truck for anything that looked suspicious. “He saw a tracking device attached to the frame of his truck,” Christiana said.
Magnetic mount vehicle tracking device
Officers went undercover and began following the resident until they spotted his tail. Detectives were watching as the stranger followed the resident around the city, authorities said.
Detectives took Centanni into custody at Lavoisier and Fourth streets in Gretna just after 6 p.m. on Tuesday. He identified himself as a private investigator and admitted installing the GPS tracker, authorities said. No information was available about the nature of the civil paperwork.
While GPS tracking technology isn’t illegal, state law bans the use of a device to track a person without their knowledge or consent, Christiana said.
“(Private investigators) should have the skills and ability through training to be able to watch or serve a person without employing illegal tracking devices,” he said.
Centanni, of 9209 Tanglewild Drive, River Ridge, was booked with using a prohibited tracking device, a misdemeanor. He was released from the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center Wednesday on a $500 bond. Centanni could not be reached Wednesday afternoon for comment.
The use of tracking devices is becoming more prevalent amongst private investigators, according to Christiana. “Although it’s a misdemeanor, when caught by law enforcement officers, they should know they are going to be arrested,” he said. “It’s a violation of state law and, possibly, federal law.”