CHARLEVOIX COUNTY, Mich. (WPBN/WGTU) — Detectives who used Apple AirTags to search for 72 stolen political campaign signs initially searched the wrong home.
On Tuesday, 72 political campaign signs stolen from County Antrim were recovered in Charlevoix County.
Tony and Kylie Magnus contacted UpNorthLive and explained that detectives were questioning them about the stolen sign on their neighbor’s front porch before the sign was found at their home.
Having police swarming your home all day attracts a certain amount of attention.
Tony said he was working on the phone at home when detectives from Charlevoix and Antrim County Sheriff’s Offices knocked on his door. This interaction was captured by Magnus’ ring camera. They asked Tony if he knew anything about the theft of political signs.
“And of course I said no,” Tony recalled. “Then he (the detective) started saying that they had tracking devices that showed they were actually in this house.”
Detectives began searching for signs, but Kylie was still upstairs.
“She was upstairs changing and moving around, so that piqued their interest,” Tony said. “So they said, ‘She seems to be moving around a lot,’ and I said, ‘Well, she’s just getting dressed.’ And one of the officers said, ‘Well, she’s just getting dressed. “Well, when I get dressed, I usually just stand there.”
“It was like he was insinuating that I was hiding evidence upstairs,” Kylie said. “I said things like, ‘So why are you being told I’m wearing my clothes upstairs?'” and so on, and more shocked and confused. ”
According to Tony and Kylie, detectives claimed that the sign stolen from the Apple Airtag they were tracking was supposed to be at Magnus’ house.
“They went upstairs and went through everything,” Kylie recalled. “I could hear them opening my drawers. I don’t know if you’ve ever had someone go through all your stuff. It’s very invasive. It’s gross.”
“Someone had a trail camera or something on the sign and it got stolen,” Tony said. “They said, ‘Do you know this person?'” It was clearly not me or Kylie, and there was clearly footage of their car. ”
Detectives searched the home for several hours while they had the owner of the air tag come in to see if they could track the location more accurately, Tony and Kylie said. The location ended up being next door to Magnus’ house, where detectives spotted signs of it in the window.
“They kind of came in the back door, but they didn’t say the things I expected,” Kylie said. “I was expecting, ‘We’re so sorry. We were totally wrong, but never fear. We’ve made an arrest. Thank you for your cooperation.’ That kind of thing. There was no.”
Tony and Kylie said they don’t want the same thing to happen to others.
“This is a big issue in the community. I understand that you don’t want that to happen on your property. We all know what’s wrong and what’s right. No one should be stealing signs. No one should be trespassing. No one should be damaging anything. I understand all of that,” Kylie said. “But it’s just scary how we ended up in that situation because of that technology.”
Tony and Kylie said they were concerned that the air tag would be considered sufficient cause to issue a warrant on their property.
Is a warrant enough these days? Apparently so.
Up North Live brought Tony and Kylie’s concerns to the Antrim County Sheriff’s Office on Friday. The sheriff released the following statement:
“Our detectives were acting in good faith based on the evidence they had. As it turns out, the stolen property was located in an adjoining building about 20 to 30 feet away. Initial search of the home was indisputable and took place in 2015. We apologize for interrupting the first homeowner’s day in a respectful and considerate manner.
Charlevoix County Prosecuting Attorney Kit Thoren said the Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office drafted a search warrant for the house next door to Magnus’ home.
The search warrant was drawn up after an airtag was more accurately traced to a neighbor’s house, where the stolen sign could be seen through the window.
A 27-year-old Charlevoix resident was arrested on suspicion of stealing the sign. He is charged with theft and concealing stolen property.
