(COLDWATER) – Some brand new equipment helped authorities arrest two people.

Coldwater Director of Public Safety Joe Scheid says at 1:53 PM Friday, the City’s new Automated License Plate Reader alerted when a stolen vehicle went by one of the cameras. A Be On The Look Out was issued by Branch County Central Dispatch, and shortly after, a Branch County Sheriff’s Deputy spotted the vehicle at the intersection of Chicago Road and Michigan Avenue.

The vehicle drove away at speeds over 100 MPH, but came to a stop when it drove into a field near Teds Drive and Garfield Road.

The driver, a 40 year old Indiana man, was arrested for fleeing and eluding; resisting and obstructing police; possession of a stolen car and possession of meth. The passenger, a 31 year of Bronson woman, was arrested for resisting and obstructing police.

Scheid says the Coldwater City Council approved the purchase of the cameras in July 2023. It took several months to get permits from MDOT to get the cameras installed along U.S. 12 and then time to configure the system, along with training law enforcement staff on how it works.

When a car drives past the camera, the license plate is scanned through a nationwide database to identify stolen plates and cars, wanted fugitives, missing persons and missing children. If the system identifies a car matching the aforementioned criteria, it sends an alert to Coldwater police cars and Branch County Central Dispatch, who in turn broadcast the information to all area law enforcement.