License plate reader cameras helped Lincoln County, North Carolina, detectives arrest two Charlotte men accused of stealing firearms from a business in Denver, and led to the recovery of five stolen firearms, according to a May 2025 report. A detective used the newly installed cameras to help locate the suspects at a home in Charlotte. The sheriff’s office said it had received the readers only two months earlier and that this was the first major case they helped crack.
At a glance
- Agency
- Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office
- Theft
- Firearms taken from a business in the 7500 block of Highway 73, Denver
- Arrests
- Two 23-year-old men, within about 11 hours of the tip
- Recovered
- Five stolen firearms, at a home in Charlotte
- Charges
- Ten felony counts of larceny of a firearm each, plus breaking and entering and conspiracy
- Bond
- $70,000 secured each
How the plate reader helped
This is what the report says about the technology’s role.
- Detectives used the newly installed reader cameras to help identify and locate the suspects’ vehicle.
- A deputy said that in the past, identifying the vehicle would have taken longer and required more canvassing.
The outcome
- Both men were arrested and held; only a few of the stolen weapons had been recovered at the time of the report.
In the news
“License plate reader cameras helped Lincoln County detectives arrest two Charlotte men accused of stealing firearms from a business in Denver, leading to the recovery of five stolen firearms.”
The excerpt is quoted word for word. The rest of this page paraphrases the same report, so names, dates and figures are the reporter’s or the agency’s, not ours. Where a report does not say something, we do not guess.
Context and caveats
- The report quotes a deputy on the time saved; the five-firearm recovery figure and the “only a few” caveat appear in different parts of the article.
License plate readers are one investigative tool among several. They flag vehicles and give investigators leads; officers, detectives and the public do the rest, and every lead still has to be verified. For how agencies govern the technology, see our policy and data-retention guide and the accuracy guide.
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Frequently asked questions
How fast was the arrest?
Within about 11 hours of the tip, according to the report.
How new were the readers?
The sheriff’s office said it had received them two months earlier; this was their first major case.