A U.S. Air Force engineer based in Virginia faces 13 felony counts of destruction of property, six counts of petit larceny, and six counts of possession of burglary tools for allegedly damaging 13 Flock cameras in the Suffolk area between April and October 2025.
Jeffrey Sovern, 41, was arrested by Suffolk Police in October.
Sovern, who has pleaded not guilty, allegedly called Flock camera license plate reader systems “unconstitutional and a violation of his and others’ Fourth Amendment rights.”
Air Force Engineer Accused of Cutting Down 13 Police Cameras Says They're Unconstitutional
Jeffrey Sovern faces 25 charges after Virginia Police say he destroyed 13 Flock license plate cameras. Supporters are paying his legal bills.
Military.com explained further:
A local vandalism case would normally stay local. This one has become a national boiling point in the ever-burgeoning fight over automated license plate readers.
Privacy advocates across the country have donated more than $15,000 to Sovern’s legal defense, and his case is unfolding in Hampton Roads—a region that holds one of the largest concentrations of military personnel in the country, as well as more than 600 such cameras.
At the late June preliminary hearing, Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Nicole Belote certified all charges to the circuit court, WAVY reported, sending the case toward a possible grand jury indictment and trial. Sovern also faces separate petit larceny charges in Chesapeake, according to WAVY, and was free on bond as of December.
Flock Safety builds automated license plate readers, solar-powered cameras that photograph every plate that passes and store the images in a searchable database for 30 days, according to Flock Safety’s evidence policy. The company’s software can also log a vehicle’s make and color, along with identifying features such as bumper stickers.
Its network now operates in more than 6,000 communities nationwide. Hampton Roads has embraced the technology at scale. More than 600 Flock cameras operate across the region, including 70 in Suffolk, according to an exhibit filed in a federal lawsuit and reported by WAVY. Police departments credit the readers with helping to solve crimes and deter offenders.
Critics argue the cameras amount to a warrantless tracking network that logs the daily movements of ordinary drivers. That argument has already reached a courtroom in neighboring Norfolk, where a federal judge ruled in January that the city’s network of 176 Flock cameras did not violate the Fourth Amendment, finding the system does not track the whole of a person’s movements.
The two residents who sued, backed by the Institute for Justice, are appealing.
“I appreciate everyone’s right to privacy, enshrined in the fourth amendment. With the local news outlets finding my legal issues and creating a story that is starting to grow, there has been community support for me that I humbly welcome,” a GoFundMe page stated.
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