“Hazardous drone operation” leads to two arrests in Boston
By Matt Schooley and Samantha Chaney
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BOSTON (WBZ) — Two people were arrested Saturday night in Boston for what police describe as a “hazardous drone operation.”
Robert Duffy, 42, of Charlestown, and 32-year-old Jeremy Folcik of Bridgewater were arrested on Long Island in Boston Harbor.
Both men are charged with trespassing. Additional fines or charges could be added, Boston police said.
According to Boston police, an officer spotted an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) flying close to Logan Airport. The officer was able to find the drone’s location, altitude, flight history and track the operator to Long Island.
Because the drones were close to the Logan Airport airspace, Boston police worked with Homeland Security, Massachusetts State Police, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Logan Airport Air Traffic Control as part of its investigation.
Three people were found inside the Long Island Health Campus, which is no longer in operation.
When police arrived, they say one of the suspects ran. Duffy and Folcik were taken into custody. Officers said they found a drone inside Duffy’s backpack. The third suspect is believed to have fled the area on a small boat.
Duffy and Folcik are scheduled to be arraigned in Dorchester District Court Monday.
Boston police reminded the public that recreational drone operators must follow FAA guidelines. Drones cannot be flown over people or vehicles, and operators must follow airspace restrictions.
“Even a small drone being impacted by a jet plane going 200 miles an hour will exert thousands of pounds of force,” said airline pilot Patrick Smith. “That said, it’s unlikely that a small hobby drone can crash an airplane, a big plane, but it is possible. And you certainly have the possibility of millions of dollars of damage.”
Drone sightings were reported for about 30 minutes Thursday night on Cape Cod. People reported seeing drones with flashing red, green and blue lights.
Harwich Police Chief Kevin Considine spoke to WBZ-TV about how difficult it is for local departments to monitor drone sightings.
“They are tough to manage, and that’s why the first thing we did today was just submit our report to our local partners from the federal government and the state police just so they can start looking into it,” Considine said.
Dozens of other drone reports have come in from across Massachusetts, most recently from Marshfield, Natick and Tewksbury.
“We’re monitoring the situation closely and state police are working together with local and federal partners, and they’re prepared to support federal authorities with jurisdiction over airspace,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement.
“I don’t want to say that it’s just a matter of time before there’s a collision between a commercial plane and a drone but the likelihood of that is increasing,” said Smith.
Mysterious drone sightings have been reported in the skies of New Jersey in recent weeks.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy sent a letter to President Joe Biden, asking for more help from the federal government.
Murphy told Biden the ongoing sightings are raising more questions than answers, adding that people “deserve more concrete information.”
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