Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

FBI Wants Google's Help Cracking Local Pimp's Android Phone

The FBI has requested help from Google in cracking the access codes to a San Diego pimp’s cell phone, the website ars technica is reporting.

Chula Vista resident Dante Dears, who served prison time related to his founding and operation of the prostitution ring Pimpin’ Hoes Daily (PHD), was originally convicted in 2005 for crimes related to an incident in which he recruited and later beat a 15 year-old girl from a homeless shelter. Released in 2009, he soon returned to prison on parole violations.

Released again in 2011, Dears again allegedly returned to his old operations, conducting business on a Samsung Android cell phone while tethered to his Chula Vista apartment via a GPS tracking device.

An FBI source witnessed Dears using the phone to repeatedly make calls to arrange appointments for a six-hour period last June. He also sent numerous text messages, after which women would arrive to give him money.

When confronted by the FBI, Dears claimed the phone belonged to his sister and refused to cooperate with authorities attempting to defeat the security codes. After several botched attempts, the phone locked down. Dears continued in his refusal to cooperate, failing to release information from his Google account that would allow investigators to unlock it.

A U.S. Magistrate Judge granted an FBI request to demand that Google release all personal information related to the phone and its associated accounts, including a record of all calls, text and picture messages sent and received, and even a list of all websites visited, the duration of viewing on each site, and details on all terms queried using the company’s search function.

Security researcher Chris Sohoian questions the legality of the judge’s decision to allow the FBI to demand such access. “Given that an unlocked smartphone will continue to receive text messages and new emails (transmitted after the device was first seized), one could reasonably argue that the government should have to obtain a wiretap order in order to unlock the phone.”

Responding to a comment request, Google responded to ars technica with a generic statement: “Like all law-abiding companies, we comply with valid legal process. Whenever we receive a request we make sure it meets both the letter and spirit of the law before complying. If we believe a request is overly broad, we will seek to narrow it.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

USD more than doubles student housing in Linda Vista

Adjunct faculty clamors to be included in expansion
Next Article

Experience Hendrix, Falling Doves, Peter Sprague, Sandi King, Clikatat Ikatowi

Tributes, listening parties, and screenings in Kensington, Carlsbad, La Mesa, Little Italy, and downtown

The FBI has requested help from Google in cracking the access codes to a San Diego pimp’s cell phone, the website ars technica is reporting.

Chula Vista resident Dante Dears, who served prison time related to his founding and operation of the prostitution ring Pimpin’ Hoes Daily (PHD), was originally convicted in 2005 for crimes related to an incident in which he recruited and later beat a 15 year-old girl from a homeless shelter. Released in 2009, he soon returned to prison on parole violations.

Released again in 2011, Dears again allegedly returned to his old operations, conducting business on a Samsung Android cell phone while tethered to his Chula Vista apartment via a GPS tracking device.

An FBI source witnessed Dears using the phone to repeatedly make calls to arrange appointments for a six-hour period last June. He also sent numerous text messages, after which women would arrive to give him money.

When confronted by the FBI, Dears claimed the phone belonged to his sister and refused to cooperate with authorities attempting to defeat the security codes. After several botched attempts, the phone locked down. Dears continued in his refusal to cooperate, failing to release information from his Google account that would allow investigators to unlock it.

A U.S. Magistrate Judge granted an FBI request to demand that Google release all personal information related to the phone and its associated accounts, including a record of all calls, text and picture messages sent and received, and even a list of all websites visited, the duration of viewing on each site, and details on all terms queried using the company’s search function.

Security researcher Chris Sohoian questions the legality of the judge’s decision to allow the FBI to demand such access. “Given that an unlocked smartphone will continue to receive text messages and new emails (transmitted after the device was first seized), one could reasonably argue that the government should have to obtain a wiretap order in order to unlock the phone.”

Responding to a comment request, Google responded to ars technica with a generic statement: “Like all law-abiding companies, we comply with valid legal process. Whenever we receive a request we make sure it meets both the letter and spirit of the law before complying. If we believe a request is overly broad, we will seek to narrow it.”

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Appeals court rules wrongful conviction for Mexican national who believed he was helping FBI nab drug traffickers

Next Article

County’s smartphones at risk for break-ins, audit finds

Raft of unused devices run up steep monthly tab for taxpayers
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader