As Alabama officials debate the benefits and potential abuses of Flock cameras, Moody Police say the technology helped investigators identify a vehicle in a kidnapping case that ended with a 13-year-old girl found safe.
According to Moody Police, the investigation began after the department received a report Sept. 1 concerning a missing 13-year-old girl who is not a Moody resident.
Police later learned that the girl and her younger brother had been taken from Tuscaloosa the previous day without permission from their custodial parent. The Tuscaloosa Police Department continues to investigate that part of the case.
Investigators said the girl had previously been in contact with Carmelita Arguijo through an online platform before the two met in person. Police allege Arguijo picked up the girl at a gas station in Moody near Interstate 20 with the intention of traveling across state lines.
As officers investigated, they used the Flock Camera System along with surveillance footage from surrounding businesses to identify a suspect vehicle. The vehicle was subsequently located and stopped on Interstate 59 in the Bessemer area, where Bessemer Police officers found the 13-year-old unharmed.
The girl’s younger brother was also located, and police said both juveniles are safe and in good health.
Moody Police, in coordination with the St. Clair County District Attorney’s Office, has since charged Arguijo with second-degree kidnapping. She is being held on a $500,000 cash bond.
The case comes as Flock cameras have become the subject of growing debate in Alabama over privacy, safeguards and how law enforcement agencies use information collected by automated license plate readers.
Yellowhammer News has reported extensively on the debate, including concerns over misuse and calls for additional safeguards. Law enforcement officials, meanwhile, have defended the cameras as an important public safety and investigative tool.
The Moody case provides a recent example of that use. Police did not credit Flock cameras alone, saying investigators combined information from the Flock system with CCTV footage from surrounding businesses to identify the vehicle that was later stopped in the Bessemer area.
The investigation remains a joint effort involving Moody Police, the FBI North Alabama Violent Crimes Task Force and ALEA Internet Crimes Against Children agents. Police said federal charges are anticipated as the investigation continues.
Moody Police also said Arguijo has previously faced human smuggling charges but did not provide additional information about those charges in its update.
Because the investigation remains active and involves a minor, police said no additional identifying information about the girl will be released.
Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].
