Hemet, Calif., police say a tire store burglary on Oct. 23 ended with a search warrant, five firearms and 30 boxes of psychedelic mushroom bars after cameras tied a vehicle to the scene. Several suspects allegedly entered America’s Tire in the 600 block of West Florida Avenue and stole merchandise, KTLA reported, citing a Hemet Police Department social media post.
What Hemet police say they found
According to that account, officers used surveillance footage and Flock automated license plate reader cameras to identify a vehicle matching the one seen near the burglary. The next day they served a search warrant at a residence. Police said they recovered the stolen property, including high-end wheels, along with five firearms, about 445 rounds of ammunition, 109 grams of THC wax, 10.47 grams of methamphetamine and the 30 boxes of mushroom bars. Officers also said they found evidence indicating drug sales.
One person was arrested and booked into Riverside County Jail. Police have not named that person, and I found no charging document or court docket, so what the person faces, if anything, is not confirmed. Police said the investigation continues and officers are working to identify the remaining suspects and recover more stolen property. KTLA’s introduction also cites more than 10 pounds of marijuana, a figure absent from its itemized list of what officers recovered, so it is left out here. The Auto Wire could not retrieve the department’s original post, and no statement from the arrested person or an attorney was available.
The camera supplied a lead; a judge supplied the entry
A plate reader hit tells police where a car was, not who was driving it or what is inside a house. Getting into a residence takes a warrant, which means a judge has to find probable cause. The affidavit behind this one is not public in anything I could locate, so how heavily the Flock match weighed in it is unknown…