The comments from the investigator in the story make it seem like there was some delay in them getting that info:
“The problem was we couldn’t get to the [Internet Protocol] addresses.”
Zimmer said the breakthrough in the case came around September, when investigators were able to uncover the real IP addresses behind the Craigslist ads and the harassing emails Diaz was receiving. He said some had originated at Diaz’s condo and her father’s home.
“That was the real aha moment,” he said.
So they may have requested the information from the ISP and Craigslist but didn’t get a response until 3 months after they had arrested her. I’ve seen other cases similar to this with internet trolls who frame people for stalking, harassment, etc. They are often able to get people arrested because the police only need “probable cause” to make the arrest, and just the troll or hoaxer making the complaint and presenting emails that seem to come from the accused is enough for probable cause.
I can see why police are in a rush to arrest stalkers, after all, if they get the report and don’t do that, then they get blamed if the stalker escalates and kills the person. The downside is that innocent people can get locked up and held until the police get their hands on the evidence they would need to push for a conviction and see that it doesn’t add up. It’s basically a new evolution of “swatting” that is bound to become more common.
If you want to see people that are really sophisticated with this tactic, look into a troll named “Sarah Afshar”. She has gotten people arrested by faking evidence that they were stalking her, and now she collaborates with another woman to try and get innocent people arrested for purportedly stalking her daughter to death somehow (the daughter died of a drug overdose alone in her bedroom). There is a whole gang of trolls that work under her using these kinds of tactics, so if you google search them, you have to wade through 20 fake websites they build to promote themselves to find one critical website that talks about what they are really up to.
that is pretty terrifying. I’m not scared of having to spend six months in jail. I AM scared of being bubba’s boyfriend.
and of course the ruined career and everything that goes with it. What a disgusting thing to do to somebody.