Bensalem police say man put GPS in woman’s car and is stalking her – NBC10 Philadelphia

A Montgomery County man is accused of placing a GPS device in the car of a woman he met on an online dating site, stalking her and cutting off her power and internet.

On April 16, 2024, a Bucks County resident reported to Bensalem Police that she returned home from vacation to discover that someone had turned off all the circuit breakers in her home and unplugged the Internet connection from the wall, cutting off her access to the Internet.

Bensalem police examined the woman’s vehicle and found a magnetized GPS tracking device under it, investigators say. The detective then obtained a search warrant and recovered data from the device and its manufacturer. According to investigators, the account linked to the tracker was then linked to Matthew Bustin, 33, of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Data from the tracker showed it began transmitting the location of the woman’s car on April 5, 2024, at her workplace in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

The detective then obtained surveillance footage from the workplace that showed the man getting out of a black Honda Civic, approaching the woman’s car, lying on the ground, reaching under the vehicle and then returning to his car, investigators say. Police identified the man as Bustin.

The woman initially told investigators that she met Bustin on a dating website. She said that after several meetings, she felt uncomfortable around him due to his strange behavior and ended their relationship by blocking him on social media. The woman said Bustin continued to text her and show up unexpectedly.

A search warrant was obtained for Bustin’s cell phone location information. Data analysis showed that Bustin was near the woman’s home and workplace without her knowledge at least nine times after she ended their relationship, police said. According to investigators, he was also near the woman’s workplace as he lay next to her vehicle, which was captured on surveillance video.

The police also obtained data from PECO, which shows that on April 14, between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., the electricity was cut off at the woman’s house while she was on vacation. Investigators said Bustin’s phone was at or near the woman’s home around the same time.

An arrest warrant was obtained for Bustin, who was charged with breaking and entering, stalking and harassment. Investigators said he surrendered to Bensalem police on June 1. He was subsequently arraigned and committed to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $2 million bail.

Anyone who may have been a victim of Bustin’s should contact Detective Connor Farnan at 215-633-3632.

Online court records do not list any attorneys for Bustin.