Flock Alert Leads to Man’s Conviction for Possessing Stolen Truck After Burglarizing Motorcycle Dealership

NORFOLK, Va. — Kenneth Scott Benedict, 20, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to four felony charges stemming from two incidents earlier this year in which Mr. Benedict broke into a motorcycle dealership to steal a dirt bike and was later caught with a stolen truck after officers responded to a Flock alert on the vehicle.

On March 25, Mr. Benedict went to Honda of Norfolk on Tidewater Drive, broke out the front window with a fire extinguisher and stole a dirt bike. Surveillance cameras captured Mr. Benedict committing the burglary. The following day, Fort Eustis Military Police detectives recovered the stolen dirt bike, identified Mr. Benedict as a person of interest, and alerted Norfolk Police, who charged Mr. Bendict with burglary, felony vandalism, and grand larceny. Mr. Benedict had no prior criminal record, and a Virginia magistrate granted Mr. Benedict bail on those charges.

On April 6, Mr. Benedict was driving a stolen truck on North Military Highway. Norfolk Police officers received a Flock alert on the stolen truck and found it in the nearby Walmart parking lot. Officers turned on their lights to stop Mr. Benedict, but Mr. Benedict got out of the truck and attempted to run away. Officers arrested him after a short foot pursuit. Following this arrest, a magistrate ordered Mr. Benedict held without bail.

Mr. Benedict pleaded guilty as charged on Tuesday to felony destruction of property, burglary, and grand larceny for the March incident and to felony receipt of stolen goods for the April incident. There was no agreement on either the disposition of the charges or on a possible sentence. Judge Joseph C. Lindsey accepted Mr. Benedict’s plea and set his sentencing hearing for Oct. 4.

“Businesses and homes with surveillance cameras are safer and, if the targets of crime, make it far more likely that the police will be able to arrest and we will be able to convict the person who committed the crime,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “The Flock system has once again proved its worth in leading the police directly to a stolen vehicle, and technology has helped us hold Mr. Benedict accountable while avoiding overpolicing.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Mary Grace V. Godfrey prosecuted Mr. Benedict’s case on behalf of the Commonwealth, and Norfolk Police Detective Kevin M. Gross and Officer Kyle B. Barnes led the investigations.

###