The Sheriff's Office License Plate Recognition System has assisted a deputy in the arrest of a suspect wanted by the FBI for wire fraud. The suspect was arrested at about 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at Gulf Boulevard at 96th Avenue in Indian Rocks Beach.

Deputy Mark Eastty was on routine patrol headed southbound on Gulf Boulevard when the in-car License Plate Recognition System alerted him to a possible hit/match on a license plate. The plate was flagged by the system as having an outstanding federal warrant.

Deputy Eastty confirmed the warrant for the registered owner and conducted a probable cause stop on the vehicle, a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The deputy subsequently identified the driver as the registered owner, 31-year-old Beau Diamond of Sarasota.

Diamond was arrested and transported to the Pinellas County Jail.

The License Plate Recognition System has been in place at the Sheriff's Office since July 2006. Six deputy cruisers are currently equipped with the LPR in-car system. It has had 52 successful uses to date to include two warrant arrests, 21 stolen vehicles and 20 stolen plates.
 
For further information about the arrest please contact the Sheriff's Public Information at 727-582-6221.

For further information on the federal case, please contact Amy Filjones of the U.S. Attorney's Office Public Information Office at (813) 274-6352.  

To view the suspect’s booking record and photograph click the following link or copy and paste the link into a browser address bar:
http://www.pcsoweb.com/InmateBooking/SubjectResults.aspx?id=1369977