An 18-year-old has been busted for allegedly slicing down a Flock Security digicam in California and loading the gadget right into a car.
The alleged assault got here to gentle when a witness flagged down deputies in Temecula, Riverside County on Tuesday night time.
In addition they gave deputies the car’s license plate quantity, with officers then monitoring it to Andrew Anderson’s home within the metropolis.
He was arrested and booked on suspicion of grand theft and felony vandalism. The remainder of the gang who had been discovered with him had been launched.
The chopped-down digicam was recovered and is slated to be returned to Flock.
Anderson’s arrest got here simply days after one other Riverside County man was busted in a separate alleged assault on the controversial cameras.
Palm Desert resident Nathan Ceballos, 31, was accused of going after a Flock Security contractor who was changing an automated license plate reader that had already been vandalized.
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The contractor instructed deputies that Ceballos approached him whereas he was working and threatened to stab him.
Investigators mentioned Ceballos then slashed all 4 tires on the contractor’s utility car and broken the alternative digicam.
Ceballos was later noticed behind the wheel and pulled over by deputies, who took him into custody with out incident. However the investigation obtained a lot stranger when deputies searched his house.
Authorities mentioned they discovered proof linked to the alleged assault, extra vandalism to Flock cameras and a number of sexually intrusive movies of teenage ladies recorded in private and non-private areas.
Investigators are nonetheless working to establish the victims proven within the movies.
Ceballos was booked into the John Benoit Detention Heart on suspicion of assault with a lethal weapon, prison threats and a number of counts of felony vandalism. He stays jailed.
The sheriff’s workplace warned would-be digicam vigilantes that smashing or tampering with the gadgets can result in felony prices.
“The Riverside County Sheriff’s Workplace encourages our communities to report suspicious exercise,” the discharge mentioned.
“Vandalizing or damaging Flock cameras is a critical crime and can be aggressively investigated. Those that deliberately injury, destroy, or tamper with Flock cameras will face felony prices and arrest.”
Flock’s automated license plate readers may be mounted on police autos or connected to poles and moveable trailers.
They {photograph} license plates, convert the numbers into textual content and report the precise location, date and time. The know-how has additionally drawn warmth throughout Southern California.
In Ventura County, an audit discovered that Flock inadvertently shared the county’s knowledge with out-of-state legislation enforcement businesses, together with federal brokers.
