A New Mexico man apparently wanted to make a political statement about Flock Safety cameras, but the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office says he wound up making a criminal case instead. Investigators say Jevon Martinez removed 10 camera systems, loaded the equipment into his pickup truck, and livestreamed the entire thing on social media.
According to BCSO, Martinez admitted that he personally removed the cameras, poles, and solar panels even though neither the Sheriff’s Office nor Flock Safety had permitted him to do so. The 10 systems were valued at an estimated $16,500, with only two associated with BCSO and the remaining eight managed through neighborhood associations.
Martinez claimed he intended to “return” the equipment to the Sheriff’s Office as part of a political statement. Deputies said he drove past BCSO headquarters multiple times with the equipment still sitting in his truck before officers eventually stopped him outside the building and recovered everything.
BCSO had already announced it was ending its contracts with Flock Safety, but Sheriff John Allen was pretty clear that this did not make the cameras free for the taking. “Ending a contract is not permission to take property,” Allen said, adding that filming yourself while doing it does not somehow make the conduct legal.
The Flock Camera Protest Ends With Another Arrest
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The Sheriff’s Office said Martinez was booked on charges of larceny over $2,500 and interference with communications. The investigation remains active, and BCSO said additional charges could still be filed as detectives review the equipment, digital evidence, and the circumstances surrounding the removal.
This was also not Martinez’s first arrest involving license plate reader equipment. BCSO said he had been arrested by Rio Rancho police less than three months earlier in connection with the removal and damage of similar technology and is currently facing nine pending felony charges in Sandoval County arising from that earlier incident.
Sheriff Allen has publicly criticized Flock Safety’s national network and previously raised concerns about its size, security, and oversight. His position, however, was that objections to surveillance technology should be handled through policy, transparency, and legislation rather than by physically dismantling equipment and hauling it away.
BCSO also used its post to highlight Martinez’s prior criminal record and pending cases because, according to the agency, he has portrayed himself online as a public protector while soliciting donations. The department encouraged people supporting him financially or publicly to review court records and criminal complaints before deciding whether the image presented through his livestreams matches the wider record.
Comments and Reactions to the Flock Camera Arrest
The comments made it pretty clear that Martinez still has supporters, with one person writing, “Not all heroes wear capes,” while another said they disagreed with how the cameras are being used and expressed sympathy over the arrest. On the other side, someone joked that Martinez had been a “local hero for about 30 seconds” and questioned people who had donated to his fundraiser.
Others focused less on Martinez himself and more on the Sheriff’s Office’s decision to publish his prior criminal history. One commenter challenged BCSO to release similar information about its own employees, while another disputed whether larceny was the appropriate charge and argued that criminal property damage would better fit the conduct.
Then there was the commenter who jokingly tried to provide Martinez with an alibi, claiming he had been at their house “watching Netflix the whole time” and expressing mock confusion about how the equipment ended up in his truck. Considering BCSO says Martinez livestreamed himself taking the systems and admitted removing them without permission, that defense may need a little more work.