Deputies say a Spring man is facing a criminal charge after a GPS tracking device was discovered on a woman's vehicle in the 4000 block of Falvel Cove Drive. The Harris County District Attorney's Office accepted a charge of unlawful installation of a tracking device, and investigators identified the device's owner as Lester Pruitt. According to authorities, the woman told deputies she never gave anyone permission to place a tracker on her car, and the case was handed over to the Criminal Investigations Division for follow-up.
Constable Mark Herman's Precinct 4 laid out the initial account in a Facebook post, saying deputies responded to a home in the 4000 block of Falvel Cove Drive, searched the woman's vehicle and found the GPS device. The post notes that the District Attorney's Office accepted the unlawful installation charge and that detectives traced the tracker back to Pruitt, as reported by Constable Mark Herman's Facebook post.
"Our office provides all available resources to protect our citizens from this type of predatory behavior," the post quotes Constable Herman as saying. Detectives reported that they identified the device's owner during the initial investigation and then forwarded the case to the Criminal Investigations Division for additional work, according to the same Constable Mark Herman's Facebook post.
Legal Consequences Under Texas Law
Under Texas law, secretly planting a tracker on someone else's car is not just creepy behavior, it is a specific criminal offense. Texas Penal Code §16.06 classifies unlawful installation of a tracking device as a Class A misdemeanor and recognizes consent from the vehicle's owner or court-authorized surveillance as affirmative defenses. A conviction can bring up to one year in county jail and fines that local coverage says may reach $4,000, according to Texas Penal Code §16.06 and the Houston Chronicle.
Local Context And Previous Cases
Hidden GPS devices have popped up in several local investigations, and deputies say the outcome often hinges on one question: did the person who planted the tracker have consent or legal authority to do it. In one 2025 case, FOX 26 reported that Precinct 4 investigators pursued charges after trackers were discovered on a spouse's vehicles, and Hoodline later highlighted that earlier constable's post, as reported by FOX 26 Houston and an earlier GPS tracker case.
In the current case, investigators say the probe is still active as detectives review ownership records for the device and related data. Precinct 4's Facebook post notes that the office will continue digging into the details and urges anyone with information connected to the incident to contact the department.
