Camden County commissioner pleads guilty to misdemeanor in license-plate camera case
Matthew Sanders
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Camden County’s presiding commissioner pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor after being charged with stealing a license plate reader.
Todd Isaac “Ike” Skelton pleaded guilty to the Class B misdemeanor of obstructing a government operation, according to online court records. He was originally charged with felony stealing and tampering with a service in addition to the government obstruction charge.
Skelton was charged with taking a license plate camera on New Year’s Eve on Highway 54 in Camden County. Nick Komoroski was appointed as prosecutor over the case.
Skelton said in a news release Monday that the camera was unauthorized. Skelton asserted that no law gives the Missouri Department of Public Safety or any contractor authority to operate these cameras.
“To eliminate prolonged cost and distraction for taxpayers and his family,” Skelton agreed to resolve the case with a guilty plea, the release states. Skelton labeled the use of a license plate camera an “illegal government operation.”
Judge Aaron Martin ordered Skelton to pay a $500 fine and court costs.
Skelton continues to push that license plate reading technology is a violation of the Constitution.
“Considering the circumstances, this is an outcome that I was obviously willing to accept, I believe that we still were in the right, but everything being considered, this was a much more responsible thing to do,” Skelton said. “They are absolutely an affront to your liberty and your freedom to move about the country without being tracked. Every single where you go.”
Skelton, a Republican, was last elected in 2022 after running unopposed.