Homicide Suspect One Of Those Taken Into Custody

Stockton, CA police are crediting one of their six drones for providing information that led to the arrest of two suspects last week.

Television station KCRA reports that during the arrest of a 16-year old suspect in a homicide case, the drone operator noted another person putting a gun into the waistband of his pants. That person was identified as 22-year-old Terry Emerson (pictured), who later left the scene in a car. He was later stopped and searched, and three handguns were found in the car. Emerson now faces multiple weapons charges, according to the report.

The Stockton police began using their drones in January. They are tightly regulated by FAA rules and departmental guidelines. The department policy demands adherence to FAA altitude regulations, and says police drones "shall not intentionally record or transmit images of any location where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy."

Stockton police spokesperson Rosie Calderon said that the recent double arrest was "an incident that we got from our community response team. It was a good arrest."

(Image provided by the Stockton, CA Police Department)

FMI: Original report