A North Texas man serving 60 years for a string of armed robberies is challenging the warrantless Flock camera searches that helped investigators identify him, arguing that police violated his constitutional rights.
Charles Brownlee’s case reached oral argument at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on October 5. The court’s recording index lists defense attorney James Matthew Wright and government attorney Michael Weisbuch as the lawyers who argued the appeal.
Brownlee’s defense argues that collecting the camera data amounts to a general search that conflicts with Fourth Amendment protections, Fox 4 KDFW reported. Investigators used the cameras to trace his movements during their investigation.
Federal prosecutors countered that the cameras captured separate observations on public roads rather than continuous surveillance.
A jury convicted Brownlee in March 2025 of robbery conspiracy, five robbery counts, five counts involving using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and possessing a firearm as a felon, The Dallas Express reported. U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor sentenced him on July 18, 2025, to 720 months in prison and ordered $21,123.47 in restitution.
Trial evidence showed that Brownlee robbed Cash Store businesses in Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Euless, Hurst, and Grapevine between May 9 and May 21, 2024, according to the Justice Department. He wore a medical mask and changed baseball caps and outfits to conceal his identity.
The dispute comes amid scrutiny of the technology in Dallas. The city took 321 state-funded Flock cameras offline while hundreds of locally funded readers remained active, The Dallas Express previously reported.
The appeals court has no deadline to rule, according to Fox 4.
