A 52-year-old man who shot down a high-end DJI drone belonging to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Florida has been sentenced to four years in federal prison. Here’s the whole story…
On July 11, 2021, a DJI Matrice 300 drone belonging to the sheriff’s office met an untimely death when Mount Dora resident Wendell Goney opened gunfire at it in midair.
Why, you ask? He thought the drone was sent to “harass” him.
But all that drone was doing was helping the police investigate a possible burglary at a neighboring business property. Since officers had to comb through an area spanning 10 acres, they were using the drone to speed up the outdoor search.
This is when they heard two gunshots. The drone dropped to the ground and caught fire
When deputies responded to the location of the gunfire, they confronted Goney, who acknowledged that he had shot down the drone with a .22 caliber rifle.
After explaining that he saw the drone as a nuisance, Goney also admitted to the police he could not lawfully possess a firearm because he was a convicted felon.
A record check confirmed that Goney had a total of 29 prior felony convictions in Florida! The list included aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence, illegal drug possession, burglary, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the US Department of Transportation, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office jointly investigated the case. On October 5, 2023, Goney pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
Senior US district judge Gregory Presnell sentenced him to four years in federal prison on February 22, 2024. He could have been sentenced to a maximum of 10 years.
Read more: American Robotics, Airobotics parent company outlines corporate rejig
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments