A Culver City armed-robbery investigation is drawing attention to the city’s automated license-plate reader program. Police said investigators used surveillance video and ALPR technology to trace a getaway car and identify Devin Goodger, 21, after a gunpoint robbery on Sepulveda Boulevard on Oct. 7; the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office later filed felony charges against him, according to Westside Today.
The case comes after a separate policy decision about how the system’s data may be shared. The Culver City Observer reported that the City Council voted on July 9, 2025, to suspend sharing Flock ALPR data with outside agencies. That vote does not establish how investigators accessed or used data in this robbery investigation.
The Observer also reported figures CCPD presented for the prior year: 134 arrests of suspects driving vehicles reported stolen and 26 arrests of people driving into Culver City in vehicles used in violent felony crimes. Those figures describe department-reported outcomes; they do not show that ALPR technology alone caused the arrests or explain the role it played in this case.
What police say happened
At about 2:35 p.m. on Oct. 7, a gunman confronted a pedestrian in the 6000 block of Sepulveda Boulevard, pointed a handgun at the victim’s head and forcibly took a gold chain, Westside Today reported. Police said three suspects fled on foot before leaving in a black compact car traveling east on Slauson Avenue.
Investigators used local surveillance footage and ALPR technology to trace the vehicle and identify Goodger as one of the suspects, according to the report. He was arrested about two weeks after the robbery on suspicion of robbery and a probation violation. Prosecutors filed felony charges two days later, including robbery and possession of a firearm by an ex-felon. The charges are allegations, and the available account does not specify how a particular camera alert or data search contributed to identifying him.
Police are still seeking two other suspects. Authorities have not said whether the gun or the stolen chain has been recovered, according to Westside Today.
