Man dive-bombed Virginia firefighters with drone, then asked for it back
In 2019, a drone darted at a group of firefighters in Virginia several times, sending them ducking for cover before it finally crashed into a pole and fell to the ground, federal prosecutors said.
Several hours later, the man accused of operating the wayward drone showed up at the police department to ask for it back.
James Russell Weeks III pleaded guilty last week to felony charges of operating an unregistered aircraft as a result of the 2019 incident, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia said in a news release. Weeks now faces up to three years in federal prison, but prosecutors said they would not request any period of incarceration.
“I know I’m guilty,” Weeks said in court at his plea hearing, The Roanoke Times reported. “I was the one operating the drone irresponsibly.”
A public defender representing Weeks did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
According to court documents accompanying his plea agreement, the drone debacle unfolded on July 25, 2019, at the main fire department in Salem, Virginia. Salem is a few miles west of the center of Roanoke.
Firefighters at the station noticed a white drone with four propellers hovering above the ambulance bay, The Roanoke Times previously reported. According to the newspaper, the drone then dove toward them, “sometimes hovering at eye level, before gaining elevation again.”
The firefighters tried batting it down using a garbage bag and a fire hose — to no avail, The Times reported.
Prosecutors described the scene as firefighters being “buzzed” by the drone, which “darted at them a number of times, then flew inside the garage of the fire station where it crashed into a pole and became immobile.”
The firefighters had to hide behind fire trucks to dodge the drone when it first flew into the station, The Roanoke Times reported.
The drone was given to the police to investigate, court documents state. Weeks arrived at the Salem Police Department later that day to collect it.
Weeks first told investigators he let a friend fly the drone while he was eating dinner, according to The Times. But prosecutors said he ultimately admitted to owning and operating it during the mayhem at the fire station.
Prosecutors determined Weeks never registered the drone with the Federal Aviation Administration, which is required for any unmanned aircraft weighing more than .55 pounds.
He was indicted March 25 and was arraigned at the beginning of April, court filings show. A judge set his bond at $15,000.
Weeks pleaded guilty on Nov. 5. yahoo.com