We all look to Youtube for how to’s and valuable insight on everything from cooking tips to Minecraft tricks. For Centereach resident Stephen Ruth, making tutorials on how to take out traffic cameras was his way of helping innocent people save a lot of money. Unfortunately, Suffolk County Police Sixth Precinct Crime Section officers didn’t see eye-to-eye with the Red light Camera liberator.
Sixth Precinct Crime Section got anonymous tips about a Youtube video, showing a man tamper with red light cameras in Ronkonkoma so that they would not capture traffic violators. On August 21st and the 24th, Ruth tampered with the camera located on Ocean Avenue and Long Island Expressway South Service Road in Ronkonkoma. Police say he repeated the same process, yesterday afternoon with two cameras located at Hawkins Avenue and the Long Island Expressway South Service Road in Ronkonkoma. Ruth was arrested yesterday at his home in Centereach, at approximately 3:56 p.m.
Stephen Ruth, 42, was charged with four counts of Criminal Tampering 3rd Degree and four counts of Obstruction of Governmental Administration 2nd Degree.