By admin 
Amador County deputies arrested a man suspected of stealing thousands of dollars in tools this month after automated license plate readers helped investigators locate him in Elk Grove.
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The Aug. 1 arrest began with a burglary reported on Buena Vista Road in Jackson Valley. Thousands of dollars in tools were reported stolen, and the suspected thief had attempted to ride off on a motorcycle, the Amador County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. Deputies identified a suspect and alerted neighboring law enforcement agencies with a description of the man and his vehicle.
Sheriff’s officials said automated license plate reader data showed the suspected burglar’s vehicle entering a Home Depot parking lot in Elk Grove.
Elk Grove police detained the man and held his vehicle while Amador County deputies obtained search warrants for the vehicle and the man’s Amador County residence, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Amador deputies in Elk Grove recovered multiple items that officials said were stolen. Deputies searching the man’s Amador County home recovered additional property and evidence indicating he was switching vehicle identification numbers.
Amador County deputies arrested the man on suspicion of burglary, grand theft, vehicle theft and switching vehicle identification numbers and booked him into the Amador County Jail.
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The Sheriff’s Office announced the Aug. 1 arrest Wednesday amid growing scrutiny of automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, over their accuracy, data sharing and potential misuse by law enforcement.
A day earlier, Grass Valley Police Chief Alexander K. Gammelgard told the City Council that his department had indefinitely suspended its use of Flock Safety license plate cameras after a 60-day review and discussions with community members. The department planned to remove the cameras by the end of the week.
Other law enforcement agencies laud the technology, which photographs moving vehicles, and uses software to convert license plate numbers and other vehicle details into storable, searchable data.
Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper defended the technology as “a powerful tool in fighting real crime and protecting victims,” in a message posted Wednesday to social media.
Multiple law enforcement agencies across the greater Sacramento area use ALPR technology including sheriff’s offices in Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties; and police in Sacramento, Elk Grove, Folsom, and Roseville, as well as Davis, West Sacramento, and Woodland, among other jurisdictions.
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