Flock License Plate Readers Lead Missouri Police to Suspects in $151K Casino Heist

Missouri authorities have praised the state’s Flock license plate reader network for enabling the swift capture of two suspects involved in the theft of more than $151,000 from a Buchanan County gaming property on Sunday morning, Oct. 25.

St. Jo Frontier Casino alerted law enforcement at approximately 10:30 a.m. after security personnel recounted that two suspects had earlier placed a call to the riverboat facility falsely claiming management authorized the pickup of a cash box.

Per the Missouri State Highway Patrol, an employee mistakenly treated the request as valid, leading a security supervisor to hand over a box containing upwards of $151,000. The scheme unraveled when the manager on duty learned of the transaction and immediately notified police.

St. Jo Frontier Casino is a riverboat owned and operated by Las Vegas-based Affinity Gaming. The property includes approximately 400 slot machines and 11 table games. In the state’s 2026 fiscal year that ended June 30, St. Jo Frontier Casino reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $48.9 million, a 5% gain on the prior year.

Surveillance Pinpoints Suspects

Missouri police reviewed St. Jo Frontier Casino surveillance footage and identified a black Jeep Compass as the vehicle the suspects arrived in to collect the cash box. The license plate number was entered into the state Flock system and immediately located the vehicle traveling east on U.S. Highway 36.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said a felony stop was conducted on the vehicle at 10:54 a.m., with a male driver and female occupant taken into custody. The defendants were identified as Charles E. Blaisdell, 42, and Heaven L.R. Roberts, 21, both of St. Joseph, Mo.

A search warrant was obtained, and officers found $151,000 in cash inside the vehicle. Blaisdell and Roberts were each charged with Receiving Stolen Property, a Class D felony, and are being held on $150,000 bond.

If convicted, Blaisdell and Roberts face up to seven years in prison and fines of up to double the amount of the theft.

Flock Controversy

Flock license plate readers are in 49 states, with the company saying about 120,000 cameras are in use. When a vehicle passes by a Flock reader, the camera registers its make, model, and identifying characteristics like dents and scratches.

Proponents of the public safety technology say the surveillance allows law enforcement to more easily track suspects and investigate crime. Opponents worry that the 24/7 data collection allows law enforcement to stalk people and wrongly arrest individuals for being at or near a crime.

Critics also question whether Flock surveillance violates constitutional protections.

In September, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) signed legislation to protect the privacy of citizens while preserving the legitimate law enforcement uses of Flock technology. The bill requires deleting most license plate and vehicle data every 30 days and prohibits selling, sharing, or commercializing the data.