An 18-year-old suspect was arrested in Temecula after a witness reported seeing a Flock Safety camera being chopped down and loaded into a vehicle.
Deputies in Riverside County were flagged down Tuesday night by the witness, who also provided the vehicle’s license plate number. Officers tracked the plate to Andrew Anderson’s home in Temecula and took him into custody. He was booked on suspicion of grand theft and felony vandalism. Others who were with him at the time were released, and the chopped-down camera was recovered and is slated to be returned to Flock Safety.
Anderson’s arrest came just days after another Riverside County man was busted in a separate alleged attack on the controversial surveillance devices. Palm Desert resident Nathan Ceballos, 31, was accused of confronting a Flock Safety contractor who was replacing an automatic license plate reader that had already been vandalized. The contractor told deputies that Ceballos approached him while he was working and threatened to stab him.
Investigators said Ceballos then slashed all four tires on the contractor’s utility vehicle and damaged the replacement camera. He was later spotted driving and pulled over by deputies, who took him into custody without incident.
The investigation took a darker turn when authorities searched Ceballos’s home. They said they found evidence connected to the alleged assault, additional vandalism to Flock cameras, and multiple sexually intrusive videos of teenage girls recorded in public and private spaces. Investigators are still working to identify the victims shown in the videos.
Ceballos was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, and multiple counts of felony vandalism. He remains jailed.
Flock’s automatic license plate readers can be mounted on police vehicles or attached to poles and portable trailers. They photograph license plates, convert the numbers into text, and record the exact location, date, and time. The technology has drawn significant criticism across Southern California. In Ventura County, an audit found that Flock inadvertently shared the county’s data with out-of-state law enforcement agencies, including federal agents.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office issued a stern warning to would-be camera vigilantes that smashing or tampering with the devices can lead to felony charges.
“The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office encourages our communities to report suspicious activity,” the release said.
“Vandalizing or damaging Flock cameras is a serious crime and will be aggressively investigated. Those who intentionally damage, destroy, or tamper with Flock cameras will face felony charges and arrest.”