LOS ANGELES, CA – West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station deputies arrested a driver Wednesday evening after the city’s automated license plate reader cameras flagged a vehicle that had been reported embezzled in Santa Monica, according to the station.
The traffic stop took place at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, on Santa Monica Boulevard near Westmount Drive in West Hollywood, in the area of the Ramada Plaza.
The station said the driver was a named suspect in the investigation and also had two outstanding warrants. The driver was taken into custody at the scene.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department operates the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station, whose deputies made the stop and the arrest.
Cameras flag vehicle reported in Santa Monica
The station said the city’s automated license plate reader system, known as ALPR, flagged the vehicle as embezzled out of Santa Monica. Deputies then stopped it on Santa Monica Boulevard near Westmount Drive.
The vehicle was reported embezzled in one city and stopped in another. The station’s account describes the driver as a named suspect in that investigation.
Station explains embezzlement
In its account of the arrest, the station drew a distinction between embezzlement and a traditional car theft. It said: “Unlike a traditional car theft where the person never had permission to take the vehicle in the first place–embezzlement starts with lawful possession followed by a breach of trust.”
By the station’s description, a person in an embezzlement case first has lawful possession of the vehicle, and the alleged offense is the later breach of that trust.
Sheriff’s Department sets rules for ALPR data
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department describes the technology on its ALPR transparency page as “a valuable law enforcement tool that when used appropriately, greatly enhances public safety.” The page says the department may use ALPR data for criminal investigations, locating wanted persons and recovering stolen vehicles.
The same page states that “ALPR data may NOT be used for civil immigration enforcement.” It also says the department’s ALPR privacy policy was updated April 22, 2026.
Safer WeHo program includes a watch center
Safer WeHo is the City of West Hollywood’s public safety technology program, which the City Council approved as a one-year pilot starting in August 2024, according to the city’s Safer WeHo page.
The program includes a real-time watch center at the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station and a network of about 50 fixed real-time cameras. It also gives the watch center access to the city’s existing ALPR cameras.
ALPR used in two October arrests
According to initial reports, West Hollywood deputies used ALPR technology in two other arrests in late October. On Oct. 26, a camera flagged a vehicle tied to an earlier felony robbery investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Division.
Deputies tracked that vehicle west on Sunset Boulevard and made a high-risk stop near Shoreham and Sherbourne drives. All three occupants surrendered without incident and were turned over to LAPD detectives.
On Oct. 29, deputies used ALPR technology to identify a suspect’s vehicle and arrest a suspect in an assault with a deadly weapon on Fountain Avenue in which a store employee was injured. There is no indication in the available information that those cases are connected to Wednesday’s arrest.
Contact for information
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station at 310-855-8850.
Charges and booking details not released
An arrest is not a conviction, and the allegations remain subject to the criminal court process. In the information available Thursday, the station had not released the driver’s name, the details of the two warrants, the charges or booking information.
The driver remained identified only as a named suspect in the embezzled-vehicle investigation that began in Santa Monica.
