NORFOLK, Va. — In color and in high definition, surveillance video clearly shows the goings on in an apartment complex parking lot on B Avenue in Norfolk in May of 2022.
Several people come and go, some stand around talking and laughing. One man rode a bike, a woman rummaged through her belongings and a stray cat wandered around.
The calm night came to an abrupt end, first with an argument between two men, an assault, and finally — deadly gunfire.
The entire crime was caught on camera and helped convict 33-year-old Lamont Smallwood of second-degree murder. His sentencing is scheduled for July 21st in Norfolk Circuit Court.
In the video, you can clearly see Smallwood brandishing his gun. You can also see the victim, 26-year-old Paul Robinson falling to his death.
"We have videos where we can see there are multiple people who could have been in the position to offer up useful testimony but don't come forward," explained Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi. "Witnesses don't want to come to court. They are afraid to come to court. You cannot intimidate a camera."
Over the last several years, Fatehi said video from various cameras has helped prosecutors seal their cases with convictions.
"They are evidence that we can bring into court that helps us as prosecutors prove a case," said Fatehi.
In another video from a convenience store's surveillance camera, a group of men could be seen violently attacking a man — even dropping an entire case of Gatorade on his head. The victim pulled out a gun and fired shots as the men ran away. Two men were shot and killed.
The shooter, Robert Vick, 24 was convicted of manslaughter.
In some cases, staring electronic eyes help the defense. In a shooting along Granby Street, video showed a man shot and killed by a driver firing through the car window. The shooter wasn't convicted because the video also showed the victim aggressively banging on the car window before the shots were fired.
"We thought it was not a perfect self-defense case but the jury spoke," Fatehi said.
The widow of Helena Stiglets is grateful for the video that she said clearly helped convict the man who shot and killed her wife.
"He was telling one story and video quite obviously told another," Suzanne Stiglets said.
Helena was shot during a botched carjacking outside a Norfolk Wawa convenience store, where she worked in 2019. The video not only connected 23-year-old Andre Brinkley to her murder but to other crimes in the area on the same night.
Flock cameras across the city of Norfolk
Before video reaches court, images help Norfolk police in their investigations. In May, police installed 172 Flock cameras across the city. The cameras take still pictures of vehicles' license plates. The system can track a vehicle's movements, including those reported stolen.
As soon as a camera captures an image of tags on a stolen vehicle, police get an alert and can attempt to make a traffic stop.
"In the first month, we had somewhere in the area of 21 arrests and 17 vehicles recovered as a result of flock hits, " said Lieutenant Charles Thomas.
The arrests don't stop at car theft crimes. Last week, after the second shooting in one week on Norfolk's Bagnall Road, a flock camera on the street captured the tag number of the suspect's vehicle. Shortly thereafter, police arrested 34-year-old Donshay Simpson.
The cameras have even led police to a rape suspect.
"From the police side of things and our perspective, it's giving us great leads to go from to help solve some our most important crime in the city," Thomas said.