Attempted abduction-- license plate readers prove out

It's been two and a half years since the B'game city council voted 3-2 to install license plate readers in town.  You can read about Michael Brownrigg's and Emily Beach's opposed votes here.  Now we have stunning evidence of the wisdom of applying this technology in town.  As issued by BPD and repeated here in its entirety:

On Saturday, November 2, 2024, at approximately 3:33 PM, officers from the Burlingame Police Department responded to a report of an attempted kidnapping involving an adult female near the intersection of Burlingame Avenue and Occidental Avenue. It was reported that a male suspect driving a dark-colored SUV approached the victim as she was walking. The suspect exited his vehicle, brandishing a black handgun, and ordered her to get into the SUV.

The victim screamed for help as another vehicle passed which startled the suspect, causing him to flee the scene. A nearby witness heard the commotion and observed the suspect’s vehicle speeding away. This witness was able to provide a partial license plate number. Further investigation utilizing local Automated License Plate Reader cameras yielded photographs of the suspect vehicle and a complete license plate.

At approximately 7:40 PM, with assistance from the Belmont Police Department, the suspect vehicle was located in the 500 block of O'Neill Ave in Belmont. An 18-year-old resident of San Mateo, found in possession of a black BB gun, was arrested and subsequently booked into the San Mateo County Jail for attempted kidnapping.

The Burlingame Police Department urges anyone with additional information regarding this incident to contact the lead investigator, Sergeant Mike Bolanos, at 650-777-4142.

That's four hours from incident to arrest.  What is not mentioned is that this attempt was apparently the second in a week or so by what is believed to be the same perpetrator.  The majority of Californian's have reached the breaking point on crime--small, medium and crazy dangerous like this one.  Prop. 36 is cruising to a win with a 70%+ margin even as our Gavinor claims it doesn't reflect our "California values".  Time for a gut check there.  But the craziness goes on.  Just last month this lawsuit was filed over Flock ALPR use in Virginia:

A federal lawsuit filed by the Institute for Justice against the Virginia city of Norfolk, challenging the city’s widespread deployment of Flock Safety Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras.  The lawsuit argues that the city’s installation of more than 170 cameras on public roads constitutes an unconstitutional, warrantless surveillance program that monitors every motorist, raising questions about digital privacy and government overreach.

Some people have a very weird idea of what constitutes justice. 

Comments

[Mom]

Scary!

[Burlingame Park resident]

Very disturbing!
The problem is that he will be released with no consequences.
Meanwhile, Newsom and Bonta will be fully occupied on fighting Trump over phantom issues.

[Jennifer Pfaff]

Oh my gosh, was this ever in the newspaper?

[resident]

I heard she was pregnant too. That's a tough thing to handle on top of everything else.

[Jennifer Pfaff]

It's in today's SM Daily Journal (Nov 8, 2024)

[Joe]

Here's the essence of the DJ piece:

A San Mateo man has been charged with a slew of attempted charges for allegedly attempting to kidnap three separate women, all unknown to him, San Mateo County Deputy District Attorney Shin-Mee Chang said.

The man, 18-year-old San Mateo resident Royhil Lakhan, has been charged for the attempted kidnapping of a 37-year-old woman in Burlingame, a 40-year-old woman in San Mateo and a 24-year-old woman in Hillsborough from October to November, Chang said.

Lakhan is being held on a $500,000 bail and will appear in court on Nov. 14 for further arraignment.
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No mention of the LPR value or the quick arrest. We've got the inside analysis here at the Voice. Do we still have "cash bail" in SMC or do we need another initiative to repair that?

[Mom]

Bail? Really?