A sex offender who was recently charged in the abduction, rape and murder of an Ohio State University student, was on GPS monitoring, report says. The latest update on the local murder provides a cold reminder that GPS monitoring may not actually serve the expectations of crime investigators as full-proof crime prevention tool.
29-year-old Brian L. Golsby, was freshly released from the state prison on Nov. 13 after serving a six years sentence over burglary and attempted rape. It seems like the ex-convict had special conditions of supervision, GPS monitoring being one of it, under his post-release surveillance for five years.
"I can confirm that he was on GPS monitoring, which is certainly not uncommon, due to the fact that he did not have a permanent residence upon his release," said JoEllen Smith, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. She stated that Golsby was living in a temporary residence area, granted by a state-contracted residential housing program.
Golsby was arrested by the Grove City police after the body of 21-year-old Reagan Tokes' was found on Feb. 9 near the entrance of Scioto Grove Metro Park. According to Cleveland, Golsby abducted Tokes after she left work on Feb. 8, forced her to withdraw $60 from an ATM, raped her and shot her twice in the head before dumping her body. Investigators have also collected the evidence of Golsby's DNA from his prior offenses and found it matching to a cigarette butt left in Tokes' car.
Smith said the state law prevents her from digging into the details of the conditions Golsby had to follow, including the level of monitoring that offenders like Golsby could have, according to the Columbus Dispatch. "DRC contracts with community providers for electronic monitoring and GPS services. The level of monitoring depends on the offender and circumstances for which the service is requested," she further explained.
Having said that, a whole lot of details relating to the travel restrictions placed on Golsby in addition to what sex offenders have to abide by, remains unclear. The investigators are looking into validating the possibilities of which he could have triggered an alert while wearing the bracelet, or, if he had discarded the GPS monitoring device, and in that case, how parole officers would have been notified.
This eventually raise questions, pertaining the manner of which the parole officers check the movements of offenders assigned to them, or how far back the GPS monitoring records travel. "DRC is not providing specifics relative to this case due to the ongoing criminal investigation," Smith said.
