A 20-year-old Pocatello man is facing a felony malicious injury to property charge after police say he intentionally drove a pickup truck over two automated license plate reader cameras in the south parking lot of a Lowe’s store, causing an estimated $20,000 in damage.
Pocatello police were dispatched to the Lowe’s on Bullock Street shortly before midnight on July 7 after reports that a Dodge Ram had struck two Flock Safety cameras — devices increasingly used by law enforcement to track vehicles associated with crimes. Officers arrived to find both cameras destroyed, each valued at roughly $10,000.
Witnesses, Tire Evidence Link Driver to Scene
Two Lowe’s employees told officers they watched the truck strike the first camera, slow to a near stop, and then deliberately drive over the second. That eyewitness account proved critical as investigators worked to identify a suspect.
The truck was later spotted in the parking lot of a Costa Vida restaurant in Chubbuck, where Chubbuck police made contact with the driver — identified as Allyn James Carter. Carter maintained he had hit an unknown object near the Red Robin on Yellowstone Avenue and had stopped in the Chubbuck lot to change a flat tire.
Investigators were not persuaded. Physical damage on Carter’s truck was consistent with the damage done to the cameras, and a piece of rubber recovered near one of the destroyed units appeared to match the compromised front passenger tire on his vehicle. Because the damaged cameras were located within Pocatello city limits, the Pocatello Police Department assumed primary jurisdiction over the investigation.
Carter was arrested on suspicion of felony malicious injury to property and misdemeanor failure to notify — the latter charge relating to an obligation to report an accident resulting in property damage. He was subsequently released on his own recognizance, according to court records.
Flock Cameras Expanding Across Southeast Idaho
The incident draws attention to the growing use of Flock Safety license plate reader cameras in the Pocatello area and across Southeast Idaho. The technology allows law enforcement to rapidly identify vehicles linked to criminal activity, stolen cars, or suspects in active investigations — making the units a valued tool for agencies working cases with limited personnel resources.
The cameras are not confined to public roadways. Private property installations, such as those at commercial parking lots, feed data that can assist police in tracking vehicles involved in nearby incidents. Their destruction, if proven intentional, raises questions about whether the act was motivated by a desire to evade surveillance.
Carter’s story — that he inadvertently struck an unknown object some distance away and had no knowledge of the cameras — stands in direct conflict with what the two witnesses described. Prosecutors will ultimately weigh that discrepancy as the case moves through the court system.
The $20,000 in total damages makes this one of the more costly acts of property destruction to reach Pocatello courts in recent months. A felony malicious injury to property conviction in Idaho can carry significant prison exposure depending on the dollar value of damage involved.
The Pocatello Police Department has been active in statewide law enforcement training efforts this summer, hosting officers from across Idaho for specialized operational schooling. Cases like the Flock camera incident underscore the department’s ongoing reliance on technology to support investigations in a city that stretches across a large geographic footprint.
Pocatello has seen a string of notable criminal cases work their way through the local court system in 2026. A separate felony theft case involving a local soccer club president and more than $219,000 in missing funds is also pending in Bannock County courts.
What Comes Next
Carter’s case will proceed through the Bannock County court system, where he faces both the felony property damage charge and the misdemeanor failure to notify count. Given that he was released on his own recognizance, he is expected to appear for future hearings on his own. If convicted on the felony count, sentencing will depend on Idaho’s guidelines for the dollar amount of damage proven at trial. No trial date had been publicly scheduled as of this report.