The Grand Prairie police (TX) placed a flatbed trailer (with a flat tire) loaded with brand new tires on the shoulder of Interstate 20. That night, they made 18 arrest for theft. A judge dismissed all 18 cases calling the endeavor; "entrapment".
The Fort Worth police placed a bicycle on a sidewalk next to a parking meter along a commercial (retail) street. (University Drive), however the bicycle had a tracking device hidden in it. The police followed the signal to a garage and made an arrest. This conviction stood.
The difference in these 2 cases is the Grand Prairie Police had "eyes on" even filming the thefts, while the Fort Worth police followed a tracking signal. Entrapment laws are confusing to me and I won't pretend to understand them, but in my opinion all of the arrests should have stood!
When I was a teen, MANY years ago, another case involved a store-owner who was burglarized multiple times. He set up a booby trap that killed the next intruder. He too, was convicted of murder. Doesn't make sense to me..., either you can protect your property or you can't.
DMc
