Man convicted after he's caught placing a tracking device in a young girl's package of stickers
A man was convicted in a Virginia Beach court recently for placing a Bluetooth tracking device in a package of stickers that a mom was buying for her daughter at the Wegman's store near Town Center.
The Norfolk Sheriff's Office believes this crime needs to be exposed and a warning needs to be issued to parents that this took place so they can be on the lookout for similar attempts to apparently stalk people using electronic devices.
According to news stories published by local TV stations WTKR and WAVY, 20-year-old Conner Land, a cashier at Wegman's, was checking out the family’s items, but he was apparently enamored with the mother.
According to a police report, “the defendant provided a pack of children’s stickers with a tracking device hidden inside aiming to obtain the child’s mother’s address. He attempted to give a tracking device to a child to track the child’s mother to whom he was attracted.”
The device used - an Apple AirTag - is relatively inexpensive, and because it's only about the size of a quarter, is easy to conceal.
A spokesperson for Wegmans, Tracy Van Auker, provided this statement to both news outlets:
“We do not comment on matters that have been referred to the police. However, we can confirm that Connor Land is no longer employed by Wegmans. We have robust security measures in place in all our stores to keep both our people and customers safe but do not share specific details. As soon as we were made aware of a possible incident, we immediately notified the Virginia Beach Police DEPT.”
Land was convicted of a misdemeanor earlier in September 2023. The charge was Use of an unauthorized tracking device, for which he was fined $500. He also received jail time, but that was conditionally suspended.
Land has appealed the verdict and a new trial date is set for mid-October.
The Norfolk Sheriff's Office urges anyone who finds a tracking device on their person or property to immediately contact their local law enforcement agency and report the discovery.
Links to the two news stories mentioned: