Riverside County man arrested for allegedly vandalizing Flock camera, assaulting contractor

A Riverside County man was arrested on Monday for allegedly vandalizing a Flock camera and assaulting a contractor who was installing a new license plate reader, according to authorities. 

In a news release shared by the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, deputies said they were called to the 73000 block of Fred Waring Drive in Palm Desert for reports of an assault with a deadly weapon. 

"Upon arrival, deputies learned that the victim was a contractor hired by Flock Safety to replace a license plate reader camera for the city of Palm Desert that had previously been vandalized," the release said. "The victim reported that while working on the camera, he was approached by the suspect, who slashed all four tires on his utility vehicle, damaged the new ALPR camera, and threatened to stab him."

Deputies were able to identify 31-year-old resident Nathan Ceballos as the alleged suspect and located his vehicle near Palm Desert Drive and San Marcos Avenue, where they pulled him over. He was taken into custody without incident. 

While a search warrant was executed at Ceballos' home, in the 73000 block of San Nicholas Avenue, deputies claimed to have located evidence of the assault, evidence of additional vandalism to Flock Safety cameras and "multiple sexually intrusive videos of teenage girls recorded in public and private spaces," the release said. 

Ceballos was booked at the John Benoit Detention Center for assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and multiple counts of felony vandalism, deputies said. 

Anyone who knows more about the victims in the videos to contact Palm Desert Sheriff's Station Investigator Katheryn Evans at 760-836-1600. Deputies also asked anyone with more details on the vandalism allegations to call Deputy Jake Paull at the same number.