Pennsylvania Man Snagged In South Jersey By High-Tech License Plate Reader
EVESHAM TOWNSHIP, NJ (CBS) - Police in South Jersey this morning used high-tech equipment to nab a man accused of low-tech burglaries in Delaware County, Pa.
Michael Innaurato, 30, of Swarthmore -- a former teacher in Folsom, Pa. -- was wanted for a series of Delaware County burglaries in which, police say, he stole handguns and cash.
One of the burglary victims was Innaurato's father.
Across the river in Evesham, NJ, an officer on patrol around 9:45 AM got an alert from his automated license plate reader that Innaurato's car had just passed by.
The officer pulled Innaurato over and he was arrested. Police say a stolen .45 caliber handgun was found in his car.
Evesham police lieutenant Walt Miller says the plate reader compares the plates of passing cars to a national crime database.
"On the computer screen it alerts (the officer) with a picture of the vehicle registration, and also it gives them the broadcast that would be in the system -- describes what they're wanted for, where they're wanted from, the vehicle description, et cetera," Miller explains.
Miller says Evesham only started using the license plate scanner a week ago.
Innaurato is being held at the Burlington County jail in lieu of $50,000 bail. An extradition hearing was not immediately scheduled.
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Reported by Mike DeNardo, KYW Newsradio 1060.
