A new report claims authorities in Arizona falsely accused a man who spent nearly a week in jail on suspicion of murder, hinging their case on misleading location data gathered from his smartphone and surveillance video.
According to the Arizona Republic, Jorge Molina spent several days behind bars late last year after data from Google indicated he was at the location of Joseph Knight’s murder earlier in 2018.
Though he owned a Honda Civic like the white car seen in video footage of the homicide, the car’s license plate was not visible — nor was its driver, the suspected shooter.
A total of nine shots reportedly rang out after the victim got off of the bike he was riding early on the morning of March 14, 2018.
Investigators have subsequently arrested Marcos Cruz Gaeta on suspicion of killing Knight and another victim two years earlier in California. A report initially published by the New York Times indicates the suspect was an ex-boyfriend of Molina’s mother who occasionally drove the falsely accused man’s vehicle.
In a statement on the matter this weekend, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office reveled that Molina was no longer in police custody, having been released on the afternoon of December 19.
[Featured image: Jorge Molina, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office]
