Two men were driving down Union Road near the golf course on Tuesday when they got into an altercation.

One man was shot in the car before he exited.

Long story shot, the victim was transported to an area hospital for treatment and is in critical condition. The suspected shooter was arrested 45 minutes later in Stockton thanks to a nearby Flock automatic license plate reader (LPR) that provided Manteca Police with the license plate number as well as photos of the make, model, and color of the vehicle involved.

Manteca Police Chief Stephen Schluer noted 20 years ago when Manteca did not have the Flock ALR it would have taken days to make an arrest, if it happened at all.

The shooting took place in the 200 block of North Union.

Police, based on a 9-1-1 call received at 12:43 p.m., were responding to what they were told was a vehicle that drove into the golf course parking lot and was possibly involved in a collision.

When officers arrived, they found a male on the ground suffering from apparent gunshot wounds and a firearm in the street. The vehicle had fled the scene.

The male was attended to by fire and medical personnel. He was transported to a local hospital for further treatment.

With the help of witness statements, Manteca Flock cameras, and Stockton Police Department automated license plate readers, the suspect was located in Stockton, and taken into custody about 45 minutes after the shooting.

The value of Manteca’s

Flock camera system

Twenty years ago, police would have had to rely on witnesses that may have been able to get the license plate number of the suspect vehicle.

The police then would have had to run the plates.

In the incident Tuesday, however, the car came back registered to another person in a different county.

That would have meant the police would have come up empty handed as the registered owner was not the driver. The trail could have led back to the suspect.

The information Manteca had from its Flock LPR allowed the police to alert nearby jurisdictions such as Stockton where a LPR identified the vehicle when its plate passed its location. Stockton Police made an arrest minutes later.

Schluer said the process sans LPR would often mean evidence would not be found.

Some have criticized the police for not “solving” the fatal hit-and-run of an elder woman as she was crossing Lathrop Road near Calvary Community Church earlier this week. There are no Flock cameras currently on that stretch of Lathrop Road.

The city at the moment has 53 cameras at locations through the city.

There was 80, but the contract with Vigilant for 27 cameras expired.

The department is now viewing its options for replacement cameras.

The Vigilant cameras that were in place could only read license plates in one lane. The Flock cameras are capable of reading them in multiple lanes at one time.

The chief said the Flock cameras that Manteca uses have been an effective investigative tool.
Several times during a typical week they help either solve a crime, alert police to a stolen vehicle that allows them to make an arrest, and such.

You could argue the ability of police to be alerted to stolen vehicles and make a traffic stop that could help prevent crimes.

That’s because often armed robberies, burglaries, and sometimes shootings involve criminals first stealing a car or license plates and then committing another crime.

Tuesday’s shooting is an ongoing investigation with limited details.

The department requests that anyone with information or video please contact the police department at 209.456.8101. Refer to MPD Case 26-04539

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com