The mystery surrounding at least one of the unexplained drones causing Americans to look toward the night sky in recent days was solved late Saturday evening, when Boston police arrested two men for flying their unmanned aerial device too close to Logan Airport.
According to police, 42-year-old Robert Duffy of Charlestown and 32-year-old Jeremy Folcik of Bridgewater were arrested Saturday on Long Island, after officials noticed the drone on their monitoring systems.
“The incident began earlier that evening, at 4:30 p.m., when a Boston Police Officer specializing in real-time crime surveillance detected an Unmanned Aircraft System operating dangerously close to Logan International Airport. Leveraging advanced UAS monitoring technology, the Officer identified the drone’s location, altitude, flight history, and the operators’ position on Long Island,” the Boston Police Department said in a Sunday statement.
After rallying officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Massachusetts State Police, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Federal Communications Commission, and Logan Airport Air Traffic Control, the Boston Police Harbor Patrol Unit was dispatched to the Boston Harbor Islands, where they allegedly found Duffy and Folcik, along with another man on the closed Long Island Health campus.
All three attempted to flee on foot, according to police, but the arrested pair were caught and a drone found in their possession. The third man, according to police, is “believed to have fled the island in a small vessel.”
Police say that all three were engaging in seriously dangerous behavior.
“Operators are prohibited from flying drones over people or vehicles and must be aware of airspace restrictions. Even small drones pose significant risks, including the potential for catastrophic damage to airplanes and helicopters. Near-collisions can cause pilots to veer off course, putting lives and property at risk,” they said.
Both Duffy and Folcik will appear in Dorchester District Court on charges of trespassing, police said.
This is a developing story and it will be updated.
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