Denver cops were stumped. They had a short video of three hooded suspects starting a deadly fire late one night at 5312 Truckee Street, but could not identify them. A month into the investigation, a detective pitched the idea of trying to find out if anyone had Googled the address ahead of time, writes Raksha Vasudevan at Wired. Google initially resisted but provided the information after a few go-rounds with the detectives and legal counsel to fine-tune the search. "It was like the heavens opened up," says Denver homicide detective Neil Baker. The arsonists had indeed Googled the address in advance, multiple times, along with information about the home's interior.
Detectives were able to zero in on three teenagers—Kevin Bui, Gavin Seymour, and Dillon Siebert. It turns out that Bui orchestrated the arson because he wrongly believed that robbers who stole his phone lived at the address. The fire killed five people, and Bui and Seymour are now serving decades in prison, while Siebert got a shorter stretch in juvenile detention. The story by Vasudevan explores not just this case but how the tactic of a "keyword-search warrant" could become a bigger part of police investigations going forward—provided courts approve. Colorado's top court gave its blessing to the arson warrant, and Pennsylvania's top court is currently considering a similar case. "If the warrant is upheld, as it was in Colorado, their use could accelerate nationwide." (Read the full story.)