ATLANTA — Cobb County sheriff’s deputies are crediting a drone with the quick arrest of a suspect.
Sgt. Jeremy Blake says when deputies tried to serve a warrant against Antonio Carter at an Extended Stay America, he took off. It was a drone who saved the day.
“During searching, one of our drones located the subject climbing out of a creek. He was kind of in between two neighborhoods. They were able to follow him with a drone as he went to a building that was surrounded by trees. They lost visual on him but they remained in visual contact in the area. Deputies on the ground were dispatched to that area. When they ended up checking the building that was last seen by the drone, the subject was located inside and taken into custody,” said Blake.
Blake says while this is the department’s first arrest using the drone unit, their unit has helped neighboring agencies.
“Drones are becoming a great asset to law enforcement across the country. You can read success stories every day like this one; whether it’s locating a suspect or locating a missing person, helping with a wildfire or any kind of critical incident,” said Blake.
While he’s confident they would’ve arrested Carter, the drones made it much easier.
“It cut out that time that would’ve taken a dog and a human to track them where the drone was able to say ‘All right, here he is,’ and we were able to move and change our perimeter quickly,” said Blake.
Carter is now facing additional charges.
“The original charge was for obstruction, reckless driving, and an invalid license. Given the altercation he had with our deputy during the arrest, he will now be charged with a felony obstruction charge,” said Blake.