Probable Cause for Phone Records...

[aButler]

My sister is a college student in South Carolina. She has recently received numerous harassing phone calls and text messages- including a death threat or two. They always come from the same phone number in Michigan. It's a cell phone they're calling from. The police have assigned a detective to the case.

I can add more information if needed- but my question is this:

What constitutes probable cause for the police to get the Michigan phone's records to help with the investigation?

TIA

 

[CdwJava]

It depends on what the local court in SC views is sufficient. There is likely sufficient cause for a subpoena, but the question is: What then?

Will SC extradite for annoying phone calls if a suspect is identified? Almost certainly not. Will the detective go to MI to track down the suspect if they cannot be readily identified? Certainly not.

The best course of action might be to block that number from your phone (ask your local phone company how that is done). Or, if the suspect is known to the person receiving the calls, they can obtain a restraining order. While the order may not do much practical good, it would constitute a seperate criminal offense each and every time a call is made.

In my state this would be a low-grade misdemeanor and we would take the report and encourage the reporting party to work with the phone company to prevent additional calls. Furthermore, the phone company can place a "trap" on the phone that will identify the number and source of all incoming calls for 30 days. That "trap" data can then be turned over to the police for follow-up as necessary. Usually, the situation is resolved by then so they arely go any further.

EDIT: Okay, I just noticed the comment about "a death threat". This might make it a more serious offense but this depends on state law.

A call from out of state by a stranger is not likely to cause a detective to visit Michigan for follow-up. They might try to exhaust all leads from their end and then see if an agency in MI might contact the caller and get a statement and ask them to knock it off.

Is this caller known to your sister?

- Carl

 

[aButler]

If she knows him, she doesn't recognize him. She told me she thinks he misdialed once and then decided to get annoying. On Monday, she got 5 calls during the day... not including the texts... (One while she was in the office of public safety reporting it!) ... He called three times that night as well. I don't know about yesterday.

Aparently the detective called the number and left a message stating that someone from that number had been making harassing phone calls and wanted to know "one good reason why I shouldn't have a warrent sworn out on you" and left his number. When my father asked the detective about getting the cell phone records (the MI # is a cell as well)- the detective said he didn't think they had probable cause. If a documented death threat isn't probable cause, what is?

I'm sort of thinking this detective might not have all his ducks in a row... but I could be wrong.

Edited to add: I think the caller is probably actually local rather than in MI... (this being a college town and all).

 

[CdwJava]

Aparently the detective called the number and left a message stating that someone from that number had been making harassing phone calls and wanted to know "one good reason why I shouldn't have a warrent sworn out on you" and left his number.

In my experience that is often enough to end the calls. Very often that is what we will do.

Again, nobody is going to go to MI and arrest him. And SC is NOT going to extradite for a misdemeanor - or even for a low level felony.

When my father asked the detective about getting the cell phone records (the MI # is a cell as well)- the detective said he didn't think they had probable cause. If a documented death threat isn't probable cause, what is?

Well, an anonymous and unknown caller calling a number that he doesn't know and leaving a threat probably does not rise to any level of a credible criminal threat.

It's hard to kill someone that you don't know, don't know where they live, and is several states away.

I'm sort of thinking this detective might not have all his ducks in a row... but I could be wrong.

He may well be right. To make it a felony, very specific criteria would have to be met, and from what you've written I am going to guess that the criteria have not been met. That makes it a misdemeanor offense of some kind, and one that is not likely to result in an arrest at all.

Her best bet is to block the number.

Edited to add: I think the caller is probably actually local rather than in MI... (this being a college town and all).

Possible. But if the number shows up as being from MI, then it could well be from MI ... either that or someone is paying a big bill for all those local long distance calls (unless they have a great calling plan).

If the calls continue, then maybe more can be done. But, hopefully, the detective's call will end the matter.

- Carl

 

[aButler]

I really appreciate your answer. I honestly don't care what they do as long as my sister's safe.

And you're right... it would be rather difficult to track down and kill and/or whatever else someone you don't know.

Thanks for everything!

 

[stephenk]

there are private investigation agencies that can trace the phone number for you, even a cell phone number.

 

[CaRenter]

You can try www.recordscheck.net and for a $15 fee, you can do a reverse lookup of any cell phone or unlisted number, and get the name of the owner of the cell phone, then perhaps your sister will recognize who it is and be able to go from there. I have Sprint as my cell phone provider and I recieved a couple of nasty calls, and all I had to do was report it to them, sign a waiver, and they took it from there. I hope this helps!

 

[CdwJava]

Of course ... if it is a college student the name may not match the user; and if it is a prepaid phone there will be no name attached.

In California those prepaid phones are a pain in the tailpipe because we end up hitting big dead ends with them. Lots of criminals use them because they are pretty much anonymous.

- Carl