Westlake police: Man charged with stalking had GPS trackers

WESTLAKE , Ohio (WJW) — Westlake police said what started as a burglary in progress eventually led to the discovery of evidence in a bizarre case of electronic stalking.

The story began to unfold last Friday night, when a young woman called 911 and told the dispatcher, "I think somebody is trying to get in my back door. I'm too afraid to go look but I hear it like trying to open."

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A team of police officers rushed to the neighborhood and their response was so quick that they caught the suspect, who was wearing a mask, as he ran from the backyard of the home. Police body camera video shows the officers using Tasers to take the suspect down to the ground.

After placing the man in handcuffs and advising him of his rights, officers began questioning 28-year-old Alexander Victor Forcht of Cleveland.

One of the officers asked, "I mean, aside from breaking into houses, what are you doing out here?"

Alexander Forcht responded, "Oh no, I didn't break into the house, man."

The officer then said, "you were trying."

Forcht responded, "You don't have any evidence of that."

The officer then said, "Yes we do. Why do you think we came? Let's pull that face mask off you."

Investigators said Forcht initially claimed that he had a relationship with the young woman who lives in the home, but the victim told police that was not the case.

On the police video, an officer asks again, "What are you doing put here?"

Forcht responded, "Dude, listen, here's what I'll say: It's over a girl. That's all."

During a search of the 28-year-old, officers discovered he was carrying a GPS tracking device shaped like a hockey puck, which shifted their investigation in a completely different direction.

Detectives said Forcht eventually admitted that the device he had in his possession was one of two GPS trackers he placed under the young woman's car.

While describing a photo of the device that investigators found still attached to the undercarriage of the car, Westlake police Capt. Jerry Vogel told FOX 8 News, "this GPS device will fit in a case and it closes up and the magnets will stick to any metal."

Detectives said Forcht eventually admitted that he was attempting to track the woman's movements electronically.

"She was the friend of a friend of a friend. He saw her, he liked her and decided the best way to meet her was to maybe show up randomly — 'randomly' — some place she was at. He decided the best way to do this was to use a GPS tracker to figure out where she was at," said Vogel.

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After making the discovery, detectives broke the news to the victim that Forcht had the ability to trace her movements with the devices linked to his smartphone.

"She was shocked. She had no idea it was going on. She obviously felt it was an invasion of her privacy and rightfully so," said Vogel.

Forcht has now been charged with attempted burglary and menacing by stalking.

Following his arrest, Rocky River Municipal Court Judge Joseph Burke issued a criminal protection order designed to make sure Forcht has no contact with the victim or her family.

Forcht was initially held on a $50,000 bond, and the case against him will be presented to a Cuyahoga County grand jury.