LAWRENCEBURG, Ky. (LEX News) — Two Anderson County residents have been arrested in connection with an investigation into the destruction and theft of Flock safety cameras across several central Kentucky counties, according to the Lawrenceburg Police Department.
Police said officers arrested the suspects around 9 p.m. Sept. 22 during an ongoing criminal mischief investigation involving multiple vandalized Flock cameras.
Investigators recently discovered that four Flock cameras in Lawrenceburg had either been destroyed or completely removed. Detectives contacted neighboring agencies, including the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and Versailles Police Department, and learned those agencies had reported similar incidents.
Earlier on Sept. 22, a witness told Versailles police they saw a black truck pulling a trailer stop along Kentucky 33 in Woodford County. The witness reported seeing a woman get out of the vehicle and shoot a Flock camera with a shotgun before the truck continued toward Lexington.
Versailles police shared the information with Lawrenceburg investigators. Officers later located the vehicle near Pumphouse Road in Lawrenceburg and, with assistance from the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, took two suspects into custody without incident.
Police identified the suspects as 44-year-old Jim Thacker of Anderson County and 18-year-old Jovanna Grobe, originally from Powell County and now living in Anderson County.
Thacker was charged with first-degree criminal mischief, conspiracy to commit first-degree criminal mischief and having an open alcoholic beverage container in a motor vehicle.
Grobe was charged with first-degree criminal mischief, complicity to first-degree criminal mischief, discharge of a firearm or other device across a public road and failure to notify the Department of Transportation of an address change.
According to police, officers recovered two shotguns believed to have been used in the incidents, along with numerous boxes of ammunition.
Police say additional charges could be filed in other jurisdictions as more information becomes available.
