UPDATE – April 20, 2023: On April 10, 2023, at around 9:02 p.m., officers responded to the 3700 block of Camelot Drive for a report of shots fired. They located shell casings in the roadway and were given a description of the suspect vehicle. Using Flock LPRs in the area to generate a lead for this violent crime, a vehicle matching the description was identified in the area at the time the shots were fired. This provided the officers with a license plate number for a vehicle matching the description. Since Flock does not maintain personal information on people or vehicles, officers utilized this lead to identify the registered owner. Officers then went to the registered owner’s residence to further investigate the shots fired call. The vehicle matching the description from the witness and identified via Flock was located at the residence.
When officers arrived, they located several people inside the residence. As part of the investigation into the shots fired, officers obtained identification from everyone inside the residence. One individual provided officers with what appeared to be an official Tamaulipas State identification card (I.D.) issued in Mexico, from his wallet, with the name Nicolas Trujillo-Ruiz, and a specific date of birth. The photograph on the I.D. resembled a younger version of the individual that presented it to officers.
All identification provided by the individuals was run through NCIC to determine if there were outstanding warrants. At this time, officers learned that Nicholas Trujillo-Ruiz was wanted for a 1980 murder out of Harris County, Texas. The warrant had the exact date of birth as the I.D. given to officers. The individual also matched physical description on the warrant.
Officers worked for twenty minutes with the individual and family members present to determine if he was the same individual who had a warrant. During the investigation, the individual and family members did not provide officers with a different name nor state that the I.D. presented was false. Officers asked for any other identification from the individual, but no one could provide another form of identification.
The individual was eventually detained and taken to the Fayette County Detention Center for fingerprinting. Language Line services were utilized to explain to the individual what was occurring and that there was a warrant for murder in Texas for a person with the same name and date of birth. The individual told officers that he had moved from Texas about 25 years prior, but did not he tell the officers that his real name was something else and/or that the I.D. was not his. The individual’s fingerprints were not located in the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) so they were unable to be used to confirm nor deny his true identity. He was ultimately arrested for the warrant.
This individual would have not been arrested for the warrant if he had been truthful and had not provided officers a false identification. The Flock license plate readers did not locate nor identify this individual as a wanted person. The LPRs provided officers an immediate investigative lead to further the shots fired call.
The initial shots fired investigation is still open. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Lexington Police at (859) 258-3600. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Bluegrass Crime Stoppers by calling (859) 253-2020, online at www.bluegrasscrimestoppers.com, or through the P3 Tips app available at www.p3tips.com.
__________________________________________________________________________________
APRIL 12, 2023: A man wanted for murder in Texas was arrested in Lexington on Monday thanks to the Flock License Plate Reader (LPR) system.
On April 10, 2023, at around 9:02 p.m., officers responded to the 3700 block of Camelot Drive for a report of shots fired. They located shell casings in the roadway and were given a description of the suspect vehicle. Using Flock LPRs in the area, a suspect vehicle was identified and located at a nearby residence. Officers made contact with the residents, including Nicholas Trujillo-Ruiz, 71. Mr. Trujillo-Ruiz had an outstanding warrant from Texas for Murder. He was arrested and is currently being detained at the Fayette County Detention Center.
The investigation into the shots fired is still ongoing. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Lexington Police at (859) 258-3600. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Bluegrass Crime Stoppers by calling (859) 253-2020, online at www.bluegrasscrimestoppers.com, or through the P3 Tips app available at www.p3tips.com.
