Police officer put tracking device on ex-girlfriend’s car, L.A. County prosecutors charge
A Bell police officer placed a tracking device on his ex-girlfriend’s car and illegally accessed a California Department of Motor Vehicles database to get information about a woman he dated, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.
James Ixcoy, 30, is charged with improper use of computer data and unlawful use of a tracking device, according to the complaint. Prosecutors say Ixcoy “ran a DMV registration inquiry” last July on a car belonging to a man who dated his ex-girlfriend. The next month, prosecutors allege, he planted a tracking device on his ex’s car, which was later discovered.
“These databases and tracking devices are important tools for law enforcement to conduct lawful investigations,” Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “When an officer forsakes his duty to serve the public and instead illicitly accesses these databases and places GPS tracking devices on cars to serve his own private interests, as has been alleged against Officer Ixcoy, he is looking at spending time in a cell for such misguided actions.”
If convicted as charged, Ixcoy faces up to three years and six months in prison, according to the district attorney’s office.
Ixcoy has yet to appear in court. His arraignment is scheduled for October. It was not immediately clear if he had legal representation. Someone who answered the phone at a publicly listed phone number for Ixcoy said the officer “wasn’t there” and declined to provide another way to get in touch with him.
He was placed on administrative leave several months ago, according to a Bell Police Department spokesperson, who referred all other questions to the Bell Gardens Police Department, which investigated the case. That agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Concerns about police illegally using surveillance tools to monitor their romantic partners have been on the rise in the past year. Last week, a Washington Post investigation found at least 50 police officers across the U.S. have been accused of illegally using license plate readers to stalk or harass women.
Last year, The Times reported on a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy who was accused of using police resources to pursue a woman he met during a chance encounter. The woman alleged that the deputy falsified a break-in report just to visit her home, and he later pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges, according to a civil lawsuit and court records.