Lawsuit alleges Mountain View police violated constitutional rights using Apple air tag

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A Campbell resident has filed a civil suit against the city of Mountain View, alleging that police officers violated his constitutional rights by using an Apple air tag to track and search property that was in his possession at a public storage facility two years ago.

The plaintiff, Tyghe James Mullin, pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary and identity theft at a hearing last September, following a police investigation of stolen property, according to Santa Clara County Court records.

According to police, the owner of a suitcase that Mullin stole activated an air tag that he had previously placed in the luggage.

Now Mullin has filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claiming that police officers conducted an unlawful investigation by using tracking technology without a valid warrant or judicial consent and that a search was conducted without probable cause.

The suit also alleges that police officers failed to identify themselves as law enforcement or activate their body cameras before the arrest, violating departmental policy and state law.

The lawsuit names the city of Mountain View and six police officers as defendants and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as the cost of attorney fees, according to the March 20 filing.

The city declined to comment on the litigation, other than stating that it planned to submit a response to the court. City spokesperson Lenka Wright did not provide a date of when the response would be filed.

Mullin told the Voice that he accepted a plea deal because he was facing the possibility of a 17-year prison sentence. “It scared the crap out of me,” Mullin said, adding that he had inadequate legal representation at the time that he says further violated his right to a fair hearing.

Mullin ended up serving 17 months of a two-year sentence and was released from prison shortly after he signed the plea, he said. Mullin is now acting as his own attorney in the civil suit.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Mullin was sentenced to two years, but did not have information immediately available on how much prison time he served.

The police investigation

The police investigation that led to Mullin’s arrest began with the theft of a black suitcase that contained an Apple air tag. The suitcase was stolen from a storage unit in a Mountain View apartment complex two years ago. The owner noticed the suitcase and some other objects were taken and reported it to the police that day.

In the police report, detectives say that the owner activated the air tag inside the suitcase using his cell phone and tracked the bag’s location to a public storage facility in San Jose. Undercover officers accompanied the owner to the storage facility and gained access to the property by a man whose girlfriend worked there but was not present at the time, according to police.

The lawsuit contends that the officers were given consent to enter the premises by a person who did not have the authority to let them in.

The police report says the officers followed the air tag signal to a partially opened storage locker. The officers could see items matching the description of the suitcase owner, as well as suspected methamphetamine and glass pipes, according to the report.

Police say they also saw a person, later identified as Mullin, walking away from the storage unit. The owner of the suitcase recognized a box that Mullin was carrying and told the officers it was one of the items stolen from his apartment building, according to the report. 

The officers say they then detained Mullin, informing him they were law enforcement and that he was in possession of stolen property. According to the police report, one officer went back to his vehicle to retrieve his police vest, after showing his badge to Mullin. The report notes they were working undercover, which was why they were not wearing vests and did not have identifiable police markings on them.

Mullin provided his name to the detectives who then recognized him from previous encounters, they recount in the police report. 

“Mullin had slightly changed his appearance since the last time we had dealt with him and we asked how he had been lately,” an officer said.

As the detectives were talking to Mullin, the officer who had left returned to the group with his police vest but did not have a body camera affixed to it, the report says. The other officers then went to retrieve their vests. One of the detectives turned on his body camera, and it was activated for the remainder of the time, according to the police report.

The officers arrested Mullin for six outstanding warrants, including three issued by the city of Mountain View.

The police report says that the detectives returned later with a search warrant to investigate the storage unit and a parked BMW vehicle belonging to Mullin. The report itemized property found in the unit that included social security cards, drivers’ licenses, state identification cards, credit cards, debit cards, benefit cards, gift cards and tax refund mail in other people’s names.

The lawsuit claims that the police wrongfully seized Mullin’s property, which included the towing of his car. It also alleges that the officers failed to properly inventory Mullin’s possessions, resulting in financial loss for him.

The lawsuit further contends these oversights were reflective of underlying systemic problems in the police department.

“The officers’ refusal to follow basic procedural safeguards exemplifies misconduct that is not merely incidental in nature but suggests a systematic issue within the department,” the lawsuit said.

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