A Bell police officer was arrested Monday on charges of illegally accessing a California Department of Motor Vehicles database to get information about his ex-girlfriend’s former boyfriend and illegally placing a GPS tracking device on the woman’s vehicle.
James Ixcoy, 30, was charged Thursday with one felony count of accessing and using computer data without permission and one misdemeanor count of unlawful use of an electronic tracking device, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Ixcoy was arrested, cited and released Monday and is due back in court for arraignment on Oct. 2, according to jail records and the D.A.’s Office.
According to prosecutors, on July 17, 2025, Ixcoy allegedly ran a DMV registration inquiry without permission on a car belonging to a man who had dated the defendant’s ex-girlfriend.
A month later, Ixcoy allegedly placed a GPS tracker on the woman’s vehicle. The device was later found, prosecutors said.
If convicted as charged, Ixcoy could face up to three years and six months in jail.
“Mr. Ixcoy, a sworn law enforcement officer, is accused of going to great lengths to secretly and surreptitiously find information about two people who were totally unaware he was abusing his authority as a police officer,” District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement.
“These databases and tracking devices are important tools for law enforcement to conduct lawful investigations,” he continued. “When an officer forsakes his duty to serve the public and instead illicitly accesses these databases and places GPS tracking devices on cars to serve his own private interests, as has been alleged against Officer Ixcoy, he is looking at spending time in a cell for such misguided actions.”
A spokesperson for the Bell Police Department could not be immediately reached after regular business hours Monday.