RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A federal judge ruled that Richmond and Chesterfield police officers’ use of license plate cameras while investigating a string of armed robberies did not violate a suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights.
On Friday, Oct. 11, Robert E. Payne — a federal judge with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia — denied a motion to suppress evidence obtained using Flock license plate cameras in an armed robbery case.
Federal lawsuit filed against use of Flock cameras in Norfolk
As first reported by The Richmonder , Kumkio Martin is accused of the armed robbery of a Tobacco Hut on Midlothian Turnpike in Richmond in May 2023. According to court documents obtained by 8News, his charges include Hobbs Act Robbery, brandishing a firearm and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
Martin’s defense filed this motion on the grounds that police’s use of Flock’s cameras to obtain the license plate number of the car involved in both the Tobacco Hut robbery and two late April 2023 robberies was in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects a person from unreasonable search and seizure.