There’s a particular irony in getting caught by the exact device you just destroyed. That’s allegedly what happened to a 24-year-old Clarkston man now facing three felony counts after Waterford Township police say one of the license plate readers he smashed still managed to photograph his vehicle before it went dark.
Cameras Going Dark Across Waterford Township
Police discovered the problem on February 23, when officers noticed several license plate readers across the township had suddenly gone offline. A field check ruled out a technical glitch fast: the devices had been physically broken off their mounts and smashed, rendering them inoperable and forcing officers to pull the damaged units for inspection. It’s the kind of targeted vandalism departments don’t see often, precisely because these license plate readers are built to be low-maintenance, unmanned infrastructure.
How the Evidence Actually Came Together
What makes this case notable is how investigators pieced together the suspect’s identity after the equipment meant to do exactly that had just been destroyed. One of the targeted readers still managed to capture an image of a vehicle investigators believe was connected to the vandalism before it stopped working. Separately, officers pulled surveillance footage from a nearby business overlooking the area, which allegedly showed someone using an object to strike the readers.
Cross-referencing the two pieces of evidence, police identified the man in the footage as Spencer Anderson, a 24-year-old Clarkston resident, and connected him directly to the vehicle caught on the surviving reader image.
The Charges and What Comes Next
Anderson was arrested and charged with three felony counts of malicious destruction of police property, one for each device investigators say was destroyed in the incident. He’s since been released after posting a $500 cash bond and is scheduled to appear for a probable cause conference on March 11, where the court will review the evidence gathered so far. As with any pending case, the charges represent allegations at this stage, and Anderson is presumed innocent unless proven otherwise in court.
Police say they also plan to pursue restitution to cover the cost of replacing or repairing the damaged equipment — a bill that can run significant depending on the number of units and the infrastructure needed to reinstall them.
Why It Matters Beyond One Damaged Camera
License plate readers don’t interact with drivers directly; they simply log plate numbers that later prove useful in stolen-vehicle cases, missing-persons investigations, and other criminal matters. When several go dark at once, it forces departments to treat the outage as a potential security incident rather than routine maintenance — exactly what played out here, and exactly what ultimately gave investigators the evidence trail that led back to a suspect.