By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Lorain Police Department credits Flock Safety automatic license plate reader technology with locating a 16-year-old murder suspect within 30 minutes of a family member discovering the victim dead in his residence.
- The victim, Robert Lewis, 67, was found deceased July 26; a witness reported the suspect fled in Lewis’s vehicle, and law enforcement personnel queried the Flock system to track the vehicle’s route.
- Flock cameras documented the vehicle’s passage through multiple cities including Avon Lake, Westlake, North Ridgeville, and North Olmsted before law enforcement from North Olmsted and North Ridgeville apprehended the suspect on Interstate 480.
- The suspect told arresting officers he expected eventual capture but was surprised by the rapid apprehension timeline; he was arraigned and charged with murder.
- Lorain County has experienced recent vandalism of Flock camera equipment, with approximately a dozen cameras damaged in multiple counties across northeastern Ohio.
LORAIN, OHIO — Lorain Police Department personnel credited automatic license plate reader technology with enabling the rapid apprehension of a 16-year-old suspect accused of murdering his grandfather and stealing his vehicle on July 26.
Police responded to a residence after a family member discovered Robert Lewis, 67, deceased. Officers arrived within minutes and were notified by witnesses at 8:01 a.m. that the 16-year-old suspect had fled the scene in Lewis’s vehicle.
Dispatchers queried the Flock Safety automated license plate reader system to identify the vehicle’s location and movement pattern. Camera footage revealed the vehicle’s passage through sequential locations across the region. Flock cameras recorded the vehicle in Avon Lake, Westlake, and North Ridgeville before capturing its image in North Olmsted.
The most recent photograph was captured at approximately 8:16 a.m. near Stearns and Lorain Roads. Law enforcement personnel from North Olmsted and North Ridgeville located the vehicle traveling westbound on Interstate 480 toward Interstate 80 and initiated a traffic stop.
Capt. Jacob Morris of the Lorain Police Department stated at a press conference Monday that the rapid identification and apprehension would have been unlikely without the automated license plate reader system. Morris estimated that conventional investigation methods would have extended apprehension timeframe substantially beyond the 30-minute interval achieved through Flock technology.
The suspect told officers following apprehension, “I expected to be caught, but I didn’t expect to be caught so soon, or so quickly.”
The 16-year-old was detained at Lorain County Juvenile Detention Center, arraigned Monday, and charged with murder. The suspect was not a Lorain resident but was residing with his grandfather while his parents were out of town. Police documented the presence of a firearm at the residence. Morris stated there was no evidence of conflict or argument preceding the shooting.
The Lorain Police Department’s use of Flock technology occurs amid heightened debate regarding automated license plate readers and civil liberties concerns. Major AJ Torres of Lorain County Sheriff’s Office stated that approximately a dozen Flock cameras have been damaged recently, including six in Lorain County and additional cameras in Cuyahoga, Medina, Erie, Summit, and Huron counties.
Morris stated that the murder investigation outcomes exemplify the investigative value of automated license plate reader technology during suspect pursuit operations.