W. Ashley man accused of placing GPS device on ex-girlfriend’s car, following her

WEST ASHLEY, S.C. (WCSC) - Investigators have arrested a West Ashley man accused of placing a GPS device on his ex-girlfriend’s car and following her vehicle.

The Charleston County Sheriff’s office arrested 48-year-old Karl Christopher Smith who faces a charge of stalking. Smith was also arrested on a third-degree domestic violence charge.

He was arrested following an investigation in West Ashley that began on Sept. 17 when the victim spoke with deputies to update a domestic violence case, and said she and a witness saw the suspect follow them the previous day.

She said the first time she noticed the suspect was following her was when a friend called her about a pickup truck following her whose description matches the suspect’s vehicle.

The victim said then when she went to meet the victim at a restaurant she saw a pickup truck parked nearby, and saw the suspect in the truck with a pair of binoculars. The victim also reported that when she drove home from the restaurant, she saw the suspect driving past her house.

A report states that the victim became suspicious how the suspect kept showing up at the same places she went to. She told deputies that she checked her vehicle and found a black box that was magnetically attached to her vehicle’s frame by her right rear tire.

Authorities say in the box was a GPS tracker.

The sheriff’s office report states that investigators made multiple attempts to locate the suspect with negative results. Then this past Wednesday, a deputy responded to a trespassing call on the 5500 block of Highway 162 and found the suspect sitting in his truck which was parked in the driveway.

He was then taken into custody.