Public Safety

Flock cameras lead to arrest in deadly Fairfield jewelry store robbery; second suspect at large

Fairfield, Ohio • November 13, 2026 • By Press Pass USA

A Flock Safety license plate reader camera mounted on a pole

File photo: Flock Safety — a license plate reader camera of the kind Fairfield police say cracked the case

Authorities have arrested one of two suspects in the robbery and killing of a Fairfield jewelry store owner last month, Fairfield police announced Friday — and prosecutors say license plate reader cameras were the break that cracked the case.

Fairfield police investigators and the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Carlos Idrogo-Arias on Nov. 4 in New York City, the department said in a news release. He is in custody awaiting extradition back to Ohio. Officials have not disclosed what charges Idrogo-Arias is facing, and he has not been convicted of anything.

A second suspect, Richard Guzman-Guzman, is still at large, and investigators believe he is hiding somewhere in New York or New Jersey.

Two men entered the Everest Jewels store on Dixie Highway just before 1 p.m. on Oct. 20 and approached the store's owner, 52-year-old Tara Sinchuri, under the guise of making a purchase, officials said. The men then pulled firearms and a struggle ensued. Sinchuri was shot and killed. The two suspects took valuables from the store before speeding off in a vehicle police later identified through the department's Flock license plate reader cameras, officials said.

The investigative lead from Flock and the store's surveillance video helped authorities identify the suspects, they said. The investigation involved police, the FBI, Homeland Security, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser said both suspects are affiliated with a criminal gang. He added that both suspects are Venezuelan nationals, members of a criminal gang and in the country illegally.

"They committed these crimes with impunity because they knew they could not be identified," Gmoser told The Enquirer. He said the store's surveillance video shows the two men entering the business without masks, robbing and killing Sinchuri.

"It shows you how nefarious people can be," Gmoser said, adding the suspects fled to New York, but Flock tracked them "all the way home."

Gmoser said identifying the suspects would not have happened without Flock cameras. Amid a wave of municipalities ending their use of Flock cameras over privacy and misuse concerns, Gmoser called this case an "I-told-you-so moment" and is encouraging police departments in Butler County to document investigations in which such technology has proved beneficial.

"It's a vital tool," he said. "Don't throw the baby out with the wash."

Sources: Cincinnati Enquirer, "Flock cameras aid arrest in deadly Fairfield jewelry store robbery, police say" (Nov. 13, 2026, full text verified); Columbus Dispatch, "Flock cameras aid arrest in deadly Ohio jewelry store robbery, police say" (Nov. 13, 2026, verified); Fairfield Police Department news release as reported by the Enquirer.