A 21-year-old Alexandria man faces a slew of charges after allegedly destroying multiple license plate reader cameras and their attached solar panels across the city.
A city resident alerted police on the morning of Tuesday, June 16, that a man parked a dark-colored Subaru Forester on the curb next to a Flock Safety Automatic License Plate Reader camera outside Francis C. Hammond Middle School (4646 Seminary Road) “and climbed on top of the vehicle to destroy the Flock ALPR camera at that location with a baseball bat,” according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The following day, June 17, an Alexandria Police Department officer was driving to headquarters when he saw that a flock camera and its attached solar panel were destroyed at the intersection of Duke Street and Telegraph Road.
Also on June 17, another citizen reported a damaged Flock camera at the intersection of N. Quaker Lane and Seminary Road. A responding officer found two destroyed cameras and solar panels.
There were five more reports of damaged Flock cameras throughout the city that day at these locations:
- Duke Street and S. Reynolds Street
- Eisenhower Avenue and Clermont Avenue
- Gunston Lane and Shirlington Circle
- N. Quaker Lane and Preston Road
- King Street and N. Quaker Lane
APD investigators then found surveillance footage from a gas station on S. Reynolds Street and saw that, on June 16, a dark-colored Subaru Forester with a missing rear window and “significant rear hatch damage” pulled onto the sidewalk next to the camera. The driver of the vehicle then climbed on the roof of the vehicle and used a baseball bat to destroy the Flock camera.
The suspect was identified after a Flock camera hit for a Subaru Forester SUV with Virginia plates, rear hatch damage and missing its rear window at Commonwealth Avenue and E. Uhler Avenue at 6:41 a.m. on June 16, “indicating that it was being operated during the time frame during which the Flock cameras were being destroyed,” according to the affidavit.
APD found the vehicle parked outside of the suspect’s home in the 1100 block of Valley Drive in the city’s ParkFairfax neighborhood. On the front passenger seat, police saw a metal baseball bat, according to the affidavit.
The suspect was arrested sitting outside of his home and charged with an open container violation (a Class 4 misdemeanor), possessing a fake identification or driver’s license (a Class 2 misdemeanor) and destruction of property worth more than $1,000 (a Class 6 felony). He was released on recognizance and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 24, according to court records.
There are dozens of Flock cameras posted throughout Alexandria, and while privacy concerns have been raised by residents, APD Chief Tarrick McGuire says the technology is vital to reducing crime.
