UNION TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Federal charges leveled against a man accused of vandalizing a Flock license plate camera have been dropped, Clermont County court records show.
According to court records, the man charged — who we are not naming, since he is no longer accused of a crime — was accused of damaging the Flock camera on June 13.
A criminal complaint filed in the case says the defendant "took down a Flock Safety License Plate Recognition camera, solar panel and computer box from the pole it was erected on." The complaint goes on to say the man had removed bolts and "damaged the camera housing" in order to take it apart.
The camera, which was located on Mt. Carmel Tobasco Road near Glenrose Lane, was damaged "in excess of $1,000," the criminal complaint says.
The man accused of damaging the camera was then tracked down through surrounding, privately-owned surveillance, according to the complaint.
The man was charged with a fifth-degree felony count of vandalism and a fifth-degree felony count of theft. If convicted on those charges, the man could have been sent to prison for anywhere from months to, potentially, years.
Court records show the man was arrested on July 30 — over a month after the flock camera was allegedly damaged. He was given a $10,000 cash bond.
Then, after a scheduled hearing on August 17, court records show the charges against him were dismissed without prejudice — meaning the charges could be filed against him again in the future.
Court records do not show why the charges were dismissed; the man's name did not appear on an August 18 report of people in Clermont County indicted by the grand jury, nor does it appear from his court records that he'd been indicted.
