Can cops use phone left at scene of crime to call 911 to find its owner?

On June 23, a federal judge in Sacramento (CA) will evaluate a novel legal theory recently raised by the defense lawyer representing an admitted California burglar and suspected kidnapper. The lawyer, Thomas Johnson, claims that cops shouldn’t have been able to pick up his client's Samsung Galaxy left at the scene of a burglary—which they used to call 911, determine the carrier, and eventually track down the suspect. After a quick investigation of the March 2015 burglary in Dublin, California, about 35 miles east of San Francisco, Alameda County Sheriff's deputies zeroed in on a man named Matthew Muller. Over a few days, various law enforcement agencies executed a warrant at the South Lake Tahoe house where suspect Muller was believed to be staying. There, Muller was quickly arrested, and officials also found materials that matched a separate kidnapping case in Vallejo (CA) that had been reported earlier in the year.