Long Island

Long Island Man Arrested for Shooting Drone as It Searched for Missing Dog: Police

Missing Angels-Long Island was using the drone to search for a lost dog, police say

What to Know

  • A Long Island man was arrested after he shot a drone that was searching for a missing dog out of the air, police say
  • Missing Angels-Long Island, a group that searches for lost pets, was using the drone to search for a lost dog
  • An investigation tracked the drone to a yard in St. James, where police learned the resident had shot at the drone three times

A Long Island man was arrested after he shot a drone that was being used to search for a missing dog, police say.

The dog, named Dezi, had just been adopted days earlier but jumped a fence at her new home, according to Missing Angels-Long Island, a group that searches for lost pets. 

The group was using a Mavic 2 Zoom drone to search for Dezi around 4:45 p.m. on Saturday when the device stopped working, Suffolk County police said.

Members of the group tracked the drone to Rutherford Street in St. James, according to police.

An investigation found that St. James resident Gerard Chasteen, 26, fired three shots at the drone from his yard, hitting the device, police said. Police confiscated several shotguns from his home.

Chasteen was charged with third-degree criminal mischief and prohibited use of a weapon.

He received a field appearance ticket and is expected to appear in court on an unspecified date, according to police. 

His attorney information wasn’t immediately available.

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