Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies discovered evidence of vandalism and multiple sexually intrusive videos of teenage girls while searching the home of a suspect accused of assaulting a contractor in Palm Desert. The contractor was replacing an automatic license plate reader camera for the city of Palm Desert that had previously been vandalized.
Investigators identified the suspect as Nathan Ceballos, 31. The victim of the alleged assault told police that Ceballos approached him while he was working on the camera, threatened to stab him, slashed all four tires on his utility vehicle, and damaged the new camera.
Deputies located Ceballos driving his vehicle hours after the alleged attack and took him into custody without incident. A search warrant was then served at Ceballos’ residence, where deputies reported finding evidence of the attack and additional vandalism to Flock Safety cameras.
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 remained jailed as of Tuesday.
Deputies are continuing to investigate the alleged crimes and are working to identify the victims captured in the videos found on Ceballos’ computer.
Flock's automatic license plate readers are mounted on police vehicles or affixed to poles or portable trailers. The cameras photograph license plate numbers and record the exact location, date, and time. Police state the technology can assist in solving crimes and tracking fugitives.
Flock has faced criticism regarding its surveillance system. In July, the Los Angeles Police Department suspended its contract with the company over a dispute concerning footage control. The company's CEO, Garrett Langley, announced that Flock would reduce its data storage time from 30 days to seven and require police to justify every search, which he described as the country's strictest license-plate-reader policy. Langley stated that approximately 90% of investigative searches on Flock’s system already occur within seven days and that the company aims to provide communities with enhanced safeguards.
Flock has also been accused by some groups of sharing data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), though the company asserts it does not share customer data without permission. Several cities have ended their contracts with Flock, while others continue to utilize its technology.