Safeway Club Card Leads to Bogus Arrest [View All]

[CoffeeCat]

Thanks to the Patriot Act, which allows all consumer information/purchases to be released without a warrant--this man was wrongfully arrested for arson and trying to kill his wife. According to the article, "a major piece of evidence used against Lyons in his arrest was the record of his supermarket purchases that he made with his Safeway Club Card."

Richard M. Smith writes "Tukwila, Washington firefighter, Philip Scott Lyons found out the hard way that supermarket loyalty cards come with a huge price. Lyons was arrested last August and charged with attempted arson. Police alleged at the time that Lyons tried to set fire to his own house while his wife and children were inside. According to KOMO-TV and the Seattle Times, a major piece of evidence used against Lyons in his arrest was the record of his supermarket purchases that he made with his Safeway Club Card. Police investigators had discovered that his Club Card was used to buy fire starters of the same type used in the arson attempt. For Lyons, the story did have a happy ending. All charges were dropped against him in January 2005 because another person stepped forward saying he or she set the fire and not Lyons."

http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/05/01/29/030223.shtml?tid=158&tid=187