FLOCK Cameras Help Crack Multi-State Crime Ring Targeting Pensacola

License plate reader technology has proven instrumental in solving a multi-state burglary ring and retail theft operation targeting Escambia County businesses, according to Chief Deputy Tommi Lyter.

The breakthrough came after suspects allegedly burglarized Krabs restaurant on Pensacola Beach in the middle of the night, cutting into the safe and stealing cash. The suspects, accused of driving from Houston and renting vehicles for the operation, were tracked across state lines using FLOCK cameras.

"We would not have been able to solve this case, certainly not as quickly as we did," Lyter said during a Tuesday interview on the Pensacola Morning News. "Without those license plate readers, we would not have been able to solve it as quickly as we did."

Five people were arrested in multiple states as a result of the investigation. Officers recovered burglary tools and cash still in the suspects' possession at the time of their apprehension.

"You can pick them up going onto the beach, off of the beach, and then all the way across state lines into two different states," Lyter explained. "We were able to contact those agencies, and they picked up both of them on traffic stops."

Investigators are still examining evidence to determine if the burglary was an inside job. Leiter noted the suspects went directly to the safe without searching the location, suggesting potential employee involvement.

A separate case involved two women allegedly from Houston accused of conducting a coordinated retail theft operation across multiple Pensacola stores. FLOCK technology helped authorities identify and stop the suspects during a traffic stop before they could return to Houston.

The cases are part of a larger pattern of organized crime originating from Houston. Escambia County has also experienced armed robberies at gunpoint and a major methamphetamine seizure linked to the same criminal network.

"It's all over the southern United States," Leiter said of the Houston-based criminal operations. "We catch them a lot in Escambia County."

The Escambia County Sheriff's Office narcotics unit was recently named Narcotics Unit of the Year for Region 1, which encompasses 17 counties.