Located Armed Suspect Who Had Broken Into Historic Buildings At The Point Sur Lighthouse

The Monterey County (CA) Sheriff's Office was able to arrest an armed suspect who had allegedly broken into historic buildings at the Point Sur Lighthouse December 9 thanks in part to its drone.

According to a MCSO posting on Facebook, a suspect with a rifle had broken into the buildings sometime during the night of December 9. When the lighthouse docents arrived Sunday morning to run the tours for the day, they discovered Tony Snowden of Hollister, CA, inside one of the buildings. Snowden ran off and was reported to have a rifle.

CA State Park Rangers and MCSO Deputies responded. The three docents on site had locked themselves in a building. The MCSO drone was launched, and Snowden was located on top of a hill at the far end of the volcanic rock outcropping. The rangers were directed to Snowden's location then he was subsequently arrested. Snowden had thrown the rifle in the bushes prior to Rangers coming into contact with him. Snowden later mentioned he saw the drone and knew he was spotted so he wanted to stash the rifle. The incident is still under investigation by State Park Rangers.

This was a dangerous situation due to the steep terrain and firearm involved along with the unknown intent of the suspect. The MCSO drone program is a relatively low cost resource that supports deputies and other agencies by adding an aspect of awareness from above. In this incident, drone operators worked with Rangers in locating the suspect, then provided the best tactical route to reach the suspect. The suspect had put the weapon down and walked away from it before rangers made their way over the mountaintop.

The MCSO drone program was made possible by donations from the Monterey County Sheriff's Advisory Council(SAC) a non-profit, 501c3 public benefit organization providing funding for the Office of the Sheriff.

(Image captured from Facebook video)

FMI: www.montereysheriff.org