A Palm Desert man was arrested and accused of threatening to stab a contractor replacing a vandalized Flock license plate reader camera, slashing the contractor's tires and damaging the camera, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said.
Nathan Ceballos, 31, was arrested Monday, Aug. 24 during a vehicle stop near Palm Desert Drive and San Marcos Avenue in Palm Desert after deputies responded to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon in the 73-000 block of Fred Waring Drive, Sgt. Steven Nelson said in a press release Tuesday, Aug. 25.
The contractor was replacing a previously vandalized automated license plate reader camera for the city of Palm Desert — a tool police use to capture license plate numbers and other identifying details from
passing vehicles — when the sheriff's department says Ceballos approached him, threatened to stab him, slashed all four tires on his utility vehicle and damaged the new camera.
Deputies later searched Ceballos' home in the 73-000 block of San Nicholas Avenue and found evidence tied to the assault and additional vandalism of Flock Safety cameras, Nelson said.
Deputies also found multiple "sexually intrusive" videos of teenage girls recorded in public and private spaces, Nelson said. Investigators are working to identify the girls shown in the recordings and urge anyone who has encountered Ceballos or believes they may have been recorded by him to call the Palm Desert Sheriff's Station at 760-836-1600.
Ceballos was booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats and multiple counts of felony vandalism. The sheriff's office did not say whether Ceballos faces any charges related to the video recordings. He remained in custody Aug. 25, and was scheduled to appear in court Thursday, Aug. 27, at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, jail records show.
Criticism of Flock license plate cameras growing
The arrest comes amid growing local and national scrutiny of Flock Safety cameras and other automated license plate readers over concerns about privacy, surveillance and how law enforcement agencies use the data they collect.
More than 700 automated license plate readers operate across the Coachella Valley, including 148 in Palm Desert. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department operates the largest local network, with 564 cameras across four of its contract cities and in unincorporated valley areas.
In just the first quarter of 2026, sheriff's deputies in Palm Desert used the Flock cameras to assist with 245 arrests and to recover about $1.27 million in stolen property, according to city officials.
The valley's ALPR cameras, which are mainly made by a company known as Flock Safety, sit near many of the busiest intersections. As the company's cameras have spread to more than 6,000 communities nationwide, some residents and civil rights advocates have raised concerns about mass surveillance and the potential misuse of the data for federal immigration enforcement, out-of-state abortion investigations and other uses.
At least 100 cities across the U.S. have deactivated Flock cameras or canceled their contracts with Flock or similar companies, according to DeFlock, an advocacy group that tracks the technology.
The cameras have also become targets of vandalism. According to an NPR review of local news reports, Flock cameras have been vandalized in at least 36 states, with people stealing them, sawing them down, crashing cars into them, covering them in paint and stickers, and even shooting at them.
Previous reporting by Desert Sun staffers Tom Coulter and Sam Morgen was used in this story.
Jennifer Cortez covers education and breaking news in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at jennifer.cortez@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Flock camera worker attacked in Palm Desert amid national controversy
