In a matter of first impression, the Colorado Court of Appeals held that exigent circumstances of a grisly fatal shooting supported a warrantless ping of the suspect’s phone in order to immediately locate him.

On Thursday, the appellate panel upheld the murder conviction of Miguel Angel Licona-Ortega after he claimed the trial court erroneously denied his motion to suppress evidence from a warrantless ping of his phone, according to the opinion authored by Judge Michael H. Berger.