GA: Even if GPS tracker was unconstitutionally placed, it didn’t affect later SW for vehicle

Defendant first claimed the vehicle was his when the officer asked, and he consented to a search of it. After a few loose rounds of ammunition were found, he disavowed ownership. It turned out there was also a tracking device placed on the vehicle. “[T]he evidence authorized the trial court’s conclusion that Huerta-Ramirez disavowed ownership of the Tahoe. Accordingly, he had no expectation of privacy in the Tahoe, and the trial court did not err in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained from the GPS tracker. … It follows that placement of the GPS tracking device did not ‘taint’ the subsequent search warrants for the Tahoe or apartment.” Moreover, the trial court could have reasonably concluded that defendant lacked standing in the vehicle, too, based on his own statements. Huerta-Ramirez v. State, 2020 Ga. App. LEXIS 571 (Oct. 15, 2020).

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