Video shows how Suffolk County's Drones as First Responders program got its first apprehension. Here's how it went down.
Drone technology recently helped Suffolk County police catch an alleged shoplifter.
Unfortunately, 'tis the season for theft, but police have more eyes on those committing crimes. In this case, a drone captured the moment two officers arrested a suspect in someone's backyard, but that same drone helped police find her in the first place.
"Had we have not had that technology, you know, we might not have got her," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said.
Here's how the eye in the sky got it done
Police say it all started at Dick's Sporting Goods on Jericho Turnpike in Commack on Wednesday just after 6 p.m.
Officers responded to a report of shoplifting and saw three women and a man leaving the store. According to police, 21-year-old Mercedes Hough was arrested in the parking lot. Another woman, identified as 23-year-old Anamaria Guzman, sped off and an officer attempted to pull her over.
"She pulls over. The officer gets out of her car to go up and check on her. She pulls away at that point, and she subsequently hits three more cars, you know, causing a multi-vehicle accident," Catalina said.
Police say she then ran from that crash scene in Elwood. In an effort to find her, they launched the drone from the 2nd Precinct and in about six minutes located Guzman in the backyard of a home on Tulsa Street, using thermal imaging scans.
"The engines and the cars are lit up. That's technology showing you that that car had previously been in use," Catalina said.
The two women who were arrested were released with desk appearance tickets for an arraignment at a later date.
Police say a man and woman are still at large.
Score 1 for the Drones as First Responders program
It was the first apprehension made with by the Drones as First Responders program, which Suffolk County police began testing out in October.
Drones are positioned at three precincts and operated from the Crime Analysis Center at police headquarters in Yaphank. Police say it has also been successful in finding missing people.
"You know, there are going to be instances where maybe we could deploy a drone instead of a uniformed cop, and save those uniformed cops for jobs where we need a uniform cop," Catalina said.
In this case, Guzman faces several charges, including petit larceny and reckless driving.
"This is a crime that didn't need to be that serious, that she certainly turned into a much serious offense," Catalina said.