Evan Meyer, 24, of Oviedo, Florida, was arrested early Aug. 20 after police watched him smash what he believed was a Flock Safety license plate reader. The device was actually a 3-D-printed decoy placed by Oviedo police to catch vandals who had stolen several real cameras between July 23 and Aug. 3. Meyer, wearing a mask and carrying pruning shears, knocked the replica off a pole about a block from his home.

He told officers the cameras made him feel under a "constant eye." He faces three felonies, including damaging computer equipment endangering human life — a first-degree felony carrying up to 30 years. Mayor Megan Sladek defended the bait tactic, saying it was not entrapment because Meyer had no prior contact with police. No one has been charged in the earlier thefts.

Flock Safety, based in Atlanta, supplies thousands of agencies nationwide. Proponents credit the readers with solving violent crimes, including tracking Ryan W. Routh, who attempted to assassinate Donald J.

Trump in 2024. Critics decry pervasive surveillance. Meyer was released on bond and awaits a public defender; arraignment is set for Oct. 13.