New flock cameras in Gadsden help solve jewelry thefts

Gadsden police recently arrested two people in connection with a string of jewelry thefts in Gadsden. The two are believed to be part of a larger theft ring. Police said newly installed flock cameras helped them in the investigation.

“They had come across some cameras. That report went to an investigator. That information was passed on as part of a team effort,” said Gadsden Police Sergeant Dusty Ford.

Ionut Stelica and Larisa Vasile-Sima were charged with:

• Theft of property 1st degree
• Theft of property 2nd degree
• Second degree property damage
• Third degree trespassing

According to police, Stelica and Vasile-Sima are linked to thefts in Gadsden that occurred on June 19, 2024 and July 7, 2024.

The Romanian couple are said to be involved in organized shoplifting worth an estimated $100,000 in the eastern United States. They are accused of stealing mainly gold and jewelry.

Gadsden police said other law enforcement agencies in the eastern United States are working on arrest warrants for crimes committed in their jurisdictions. Ford said the couple’s killing spree extended as far as North Carolina and possibly beyond.

In April, the city signed a 60-month, $5,000-per-month contract with Alabama Power for 15 flock cameras. Sergeant Ford knew of 10 of them that were in operation.

Flock cameras capture license plates and compare them to state and federal databases.

“When the vehicle passes by, an alarm goes off if it’s stolen or associated with a known or wanted suspect, etc. It alerts the local dispatch center and depending on how the department has their alerts set up, it can usually go directly to the officer’s computer in the car or to their cell phone,” said Connor Metz, a public relations manager for Flock Safety.

The system archives the data for 30 days, giving law enforcement authorities the opportunity to conduct subsequent searches based on the vehicle descriptions.

“For example, a drive-by shooting. God forbid that happens anywhere. During a hectic scene, witnesses can almost never remember a full license plate, but they may remember that it was a blue sedan with a roof rack. An officer can query that data and say, ‘Show me all the blue sedans with roof racks in this area at this time.’ He can follow up on those leads,” Metz explained.

Gadsden police said the newly installed cameras played a key role in tracking Stelica and Vasile-Sima’s vehicle. Sergeant Ford explained there was a tip about the vehicle Stelica and Vasile-Sima were in. The description was passed on to other police officers and a license plate number was identified. This ultimately led to the Flock system registering the car as it drove past the cameras and alerting police officers.

Sergeant Ford added that the investigation and arrest were also aided by the cooperation of local authorities. Attalla police stopped the suspects’ vehicle.

“From there, we were able to arrest the individuals. Have them questioned. Talk to them and find out that they were indeed the suspects involved in the theft at Walmart,” Ford said.

As for the cameras, Gadsden is the latest city in Etowah County to invest in the system. Ford said Flock cameras in the county also played a role in the jewel theft investigation.

In the past, police have used the flock system from cameras in other parts of the county, such as during a bank robbery in December 2023.

“This was a collaboration in Etowah County. We were able to track this person’s movements from several different locations,” Ford said. “We were able to use flock cameras to create a time stamp of where this person was. That ultimately helped us prove where this person had gone and confirmed some other things so we could get search warrants, move on and ultimately put the person in jail for a long time.”

Ford said it was “a breath of fresh air” to have his own cameras and work with others in the county.

“This gives us another tool to investigate and do the things where we feel like maybe we’re a little bit behind,” Ford said.

The flock system is not monitored around the clock.

The department has policies in place to prevent officers and investigators from indiscriminately accessing the system.

Ford could not comment on ongoing investigations involving the Flock system, but said the department is using the technology.

“It’s a tool, and we’re trained in how to use it. We’re actively making sure we use it as a tool to prevent car break-ins,” Ford said. “We’re dealing with a ring in the area right now that we’re trying to get to the bottom of.”

Metz said Flock cameras are in 5,000 communities across the country and 80 law enforcement agencies in Alabama use the system. He added that Flock does not own any of the data collected, but that it is owned and managed by local law enforcement agencies. The data is encrypted and secured.