A West Virginia man accused of destroying Flock automatic license plate reader cameras has received over 20,000 alibis from the public.
Monongalia County deputies claim to have seen Wesley Jackson, a 20-year-old from Gerrardstown, West Virginia, cutting down the Flock license plate reader cameras, leading to two felony charges being made against him.
Following Jackson’s arrest, over 29,000 people commented on a Facebook post made by WDTV News. The comment section of the post was flooded with people supporting him and providing thousands of alibis, including claims that he was volunteering, replacing the roof on a homeless shelter, saving dogs from burning buildings, and other random acts of kindness.
“Man is innocent. I saw him serving at a soup kitchen at the time of the incident,” read one comment.
“I know for a fact he was at his grandma’s house making her spaghetti and switching the channel for her on her Zenith. I was there with him the entire day,” another person claimed.
“Free my boy he ain’t do it, we were playing Halo 2 at the specified time,” someone else wrote.
He was also, according to the commenters, watering someone’s lawn, teaching Muay Thai, fishing, painting a house, tending to a flock of geese, mowing someone’s lawn, canoeing, and tubing down a river.
According to deputies, a group chat about Flock cameras in the area, the actual demolition, and pictures taken during the act was discovered after a search warrant was executed on Jackson’s phone. Both men face two felonies, but because West Virginia lacks a specific statute addressing the destruction of surveillance equipment, some have questioned whether their charges actually fit the alleged crime.
Meanwhile, a similar situation is unfolding in Minnesota
While all of that was happening, someone in Winona, Minnesota also chopped down and stole the entire city’s Flock cameras.
According to KSTP News, Winona police discovered that the cameras were inactive on Saturday night, prompting them to begin an investigation.
When officers searched the locations where the Flock cameras had been set up, they discovered that someone had cut the poles close to the base. They believe someone stole the cameras and threw the poles in nearby weeds.
Similar to the West Virginia case, the public acted swiftly, flooding the department’s Facebook post with hundreds of comments supporting the offender. The police department ended up closing comments under the news release due to the overwhelming amount of support for the alleged criminal.
“Whoever you’re suspecting was actually on a fishing trip with me between July 29th and August 1st,” one person wrote.
“Whoever it was, was actually busy helping me with my dissertation,” another commenter stated.
“Must have been a very strong wind, they can get pretty heavy sometimes,” read another comment.