PLACER COUNTY — The image that led to the end of a massive manhunt in Placer County — the role of the Ring Camera in the search for escaped inmate and murder suspect Eric Abril — kept law enforcement in the area where he’d eventually be taken into custody.
The seconds-long camera video, taken from the home in Rocklin, told law enforcement that Abril wasn’t far from Sutter-Roseville Medical Center, where he escaped from hours before early Sunday morning.
The high-tech help — doorbell security cameras or cameras posted at local businesses — has been “invaluable” to local law enforcement agencies, as seen in the nearly two-day manhunt for Abril.
“Something like a camera can be invaluable to us,” said Amar Gandhi, spokesperson for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
Both Sacramento and Placer County Sheriff Offices utilize a program called S.E.E., short for Sheriff’s Electronic Eyes camera registry program.
The program allows residents like homeowners and business owners to register the locations of their video surveillance systems with their respective sheriff’s offices. Then, when a crime occurs, law enforcement can identify where there are cameras and contact citizens to check their surveillance cameras for potential evidence caught on tape.
“The sheriff’s office has zero access to your cameras, to your footage, participation is completely voluntary. The only thing we will get is whatever you give us,” said Gandhi.
Business owners, like Jerry Mogannam the owner of Phat Jerry’s Phillies in Sacramento, said he’s a member of the program because he wants to keep his community safe.
“Last October, we had a couple windows broken. We were able to upload video into their evidence system — seamless,” said Mogannam.
The video of Abril was submitted by a citizen, not through the S.E.E. camera registry program, according to Placer County Sheriff spokesperson Angela Musallam. She confirmed to CBS13 that, in the past, cases have been solved because citizens have given deputies surveillance footage that contained critical evidence.
