Florida Man Could Get 10 Years For Shooting Down a Police Drone - Slashdot

Posted by EditorDavid

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  Sounds like they didn't charge him with anything related to destroying the drone. So, I guess it's ok to shoot down a drone so long as you are legally allowed to have a gun.
  • 1 hidden comment

  • Re: Interesting that it was a gun possession crime

    If the person could be convicted more easily of the more serious crime, why bother adding on the destruction of property?

    âoeWere you legally permitted to possess the weapons you were found with?â âoeNoâ âoeIn that case, to save court time how about you just plead what is obvious to the blindest of cane users?â

    • 1 hidden comment

    • Re: Interesting that it was a gun possession crim

      To set an example that you cannot shoot down a police drone?

      • Re:

        That's already illegal and doesn't require precedent to continue being illegal.

  • "They" are the federal government, who's drone was it?

    Also, it was a plea bargain. Plea bargains often include only a subset of possible charges.

    Go ahead and shoot down your own drone, could work out well for all of us.

    • Re:

      https://www.fox35orlando.com/n... [fox35orlando.com]

      "Florida man accused of shooting down a law enforcement drone in July was indicted Wednesday on charges of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and destruction of aircraft."

      • Re:

        AP: Wendell Doyle Goney, 52, of Mount Dora, pleaded guilty Thursday in Ocala federal court to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, according to court records.

        So not "Florida Man Could Get 10 Years For Shooting Down a Police Drone" per/.

    • Re:

      From TFA:

  • Re: Interesting that it was a gun possession crime

    They might have had a hard time arresting him for destroying the drone. In 2016, there was the "drone slayer" case that makes this legally murky.
    
    https://www.droneuniversities.com/drones/drone-law/understanding-the-drone-slayer-lawsuit-and-its-implications/

    • Re:

      He admitted to shooting down the drone. IANAL:but it seems to me it would be a slam dunk if they wanted to charge him.

  • • Re:

      Things I've read/seen police arrest people for:
      1. Flipping them the bird
      2. Driving the speed limit while completely sober, but snarky at being stopped and forced to do DUI tests(arrested for DUI).
      3. Walking down the street wearing headphones such that they couldn't hear the police
      4. Walking down the street while deaf.
      5. Flashing your lights at oncoming drivers after passing police checkpoint
      etc...
      Looking at them sideways is long, long past.

      • Re:

        True. I failed to go deep enough. How does, "thinking about crime" sound? Already had a police chief here revealing his drool bucket over the movie Minority Report and his desire to move in that direction.

        6. being the wrong color.
        etc...

  • He was indicted for both possessing a firearm as a felon and destruction of aircraft. He took a plea deal where he pleaded guilty to felon-in-possession and the other charge was dropped.

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  • Re:

    He maybe white but I think his neck could be red.

    • Re:

      That's just sunburn. Really.

    • Re:

      "Rosacea of the neck" is the tribal tattoo of Florida cops and judges, so it would explain a lot.
      
      Likewise, if the headline were that Florida cops shot a guy with no criminal record 270 times for suspected trespassing, you could probably also guess the race of the subject.

  • Re:

    I think it's more likely that they were doing something dodgy with the drone and they don't want that dragged out in court. Usually when you see police failed to charge for an obvious crime it's because the police were doing something illegal themselves.

    • I think it's more likely that they were doing something dodgy with the drone and they don't want that dragged out in court. Usually when you see police failed to charge for an obvious crime it's because the police were doing something illegal themselves.

      Sounds like an odd-but-worthy defense argument for the accused. Hire a lawyer and find a way to legally keep prodding where the police do NOT want citizens looking, and you might suddenly find all charges dropped.

      • If you've got the money for it

        It's not all that hard and it's certainly not uncommon. Although the fact that it looks likely that they did that here makes me think they were up to something unusually bad. I doubt somebody with that many felony convictions has the money to pay a lawyer to go looking for ways to get them off the hook
        
        That said the other possibility is that the drone was someplace it shouldn't have been and the police don't want the legal precedent of them running drones all over the place to be challenged. That's anothe

      • Re: 29 prior felonies, in FL, and he was free...

        Thats how we found out about the Stingray celltowers that were supposed to be secret.

    • Re:

      Felon-in-possession is a famously easy charge to prove.

      Why take a harder case to the jury when you could take an easy one? It doesn't really matter to anyone (not even the defendant) exactly which section he's found guilt of.

      • Re:

        Prosecutors routinely drop felon in possession charges because the individual case could make the accused look justified enough that the jury would fail to convict. If there is a precedent set in a court that one felon was justified in having a firearm, such as in a case of a lawful self defense, then that puts the law on trial in future cases. The law is already pretty flimsy on a lifetime ban of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon given recent court decisions on the right to keep and bear arms

  • Re: 29 prior felonies, in FL, and he was free...

    https://news.yahoo.com/convicted-felon-pleads-guilty-gun-000817208.html
    
    Has his photo

  • • Re: 29 prior felonies, in FL, and he was free...

      They had 29 prior convictions in Florida, and was also living in Florida.
      
      "record review revealed that he had 29 prior felony convictions in Florida, including aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, violent resistance to arrest, illegal drug possession, burglary, and possession of a firearm by a felon."
      
      You know that Florida is a Republican state, right? I'm just curious how a failing of DeSantis's Republican Florida is somehow a Liberal fault.

• Setting aside the headline - the summary strongly implies the potential 10-year sentence has more to do with the person's previous 29 felony convictions.

  Of course, we're talking about Desantis' Florida - it's not beyond the realm of possibility that it's perfectly legal for a felon to own weapons there... maybe it's even encouraged.

  • 1 hidden comment

  • Re:

    Also it's not outside the realm of possibility that all 29 of the felonies involved him voting for a Democrat

    • Re:

      Maybe he said "gay" a few dozen times...

  • Re:

    true, but it's federal law that's at issue here.

    • Re:

      Come on, don't spoil my fun with factual statements...

  • HOW many felonies, and still on the loose?

    I didn't think it was possible to avoid a long stay in jail for so many felonies. But yeah, there's a good chance they were all state felonies. This one's federal though, so they won't be going through Rosco's court of I'm the Judge's Cousin.

  • Re:

    Putting the lack of legal precedent front and center, a 10-year sentence more strongly implies establishing a strong deterrent as more and more LE agencies look to use/abuse this kind of expensive hardware.

    Besides, you have to send a pretty strong message when you're looking to fly above and around the general Rights of innocent citizens. Helps mask your likely-illegal activities.

• Man goes to jail for committing 30 felonies, many of which were violence inflicted against someone.

• Well adjusted, patriotic florida man. DeSantis should give him a medal. The florida legislature should pass a law that requires schools to teach this guy’s heroic life history to all 4th graders, right after the state-mandated lessons about the slaves benefitting from the experience.

  • Re:

    Do you need a hug?

  • Re:

    It's not just a Red State problem. Until we start locking them up for good or executing them this problem isn't going away.

    "SPOKANE, Wash-- A 24-time convicted felon has been taken into custody by Spokane Police for allegedly stabbing a person more than a dozen times and killing them. 46-year-old Steven White was arrested for 1st-degree murder on Saturday."

    https://www.kxly.com/news/24-t... [kxly.com].

• The headline sounds excessive until you learn that the guy has 29 previous felonies and therefore can't possess firearms. After that, 10 years sounds like not enough.

  29 felonies! Can you imagine? Then he goes and shoots a drone from his yard?! Not a good decision maker. Lol

  • Re: 29 felonies? 10 years not enough!

    I would have to know what the felonies are. And the details around them. For example, You can get felonies for too many misdemeanor traffic violations.

    It's surprisingly easily to catch a felony and never have done anything serious at all just a lot of small nuisances that the local jurisdiction got tired of.

    • Re:

      According to the AP [apnews.com]:

      So not only did the prior felonies include violence and attacks on the police, but he was also well aware that he wasn't allowed to own a firearm.

      • Re:

        So basically was stooped because his car smelled of MJ. Refused a search. Got beaten by a cop and got charged with resisting arrest and assault on a police officer to cover up the beating. Since 20 cops showed up as backup 20 counts of assault on police officer. Tried to snatch his bong back (burglary charge). Total 20+ felony charges. Did a plea deal and plead guilty as could not afford a lawyer and police didnt want to go to trial and admit to an illegal search. Got time served in the plea deal. Sheriff

• Shooting at it with a firearm may be a crime, but what if you threw a rock at it and downed it?
  Does it matter if it's a govt owned or operated?

  • Re:

    Supposedly it will be treated like if you threw a rock at any other plane/helicopter in the air and downed it -- police or not. You aren't allowed to down random helicopters hovering over your property regardless.

    • Re: Is it a crime to down a drone over your proper

      No, it is trickier than that.

      United States v. Causby is probably the last major ruling. At some point close to the ground it is trespassing and he is defending his property. If police didn't have a warrant or exigency, they would have no right to be there. There is no specific limit set by the court or congress, but he owns "at least as much of the space above the ground as he can occupy or use in connection with the land."

      Right now there are a mix of laws around 400 feet, 500 feet, within line of sight,

      • Re:

        At some point close to the ground it is trespassing and he is defending his property.

        IANAL, but:

        ...gunfire from a neighboring residential property...

        That sounds like the drone was not above his property. Also, he's pretty handy with a.22 rifle.

      • Re:

        He managed to hit it with a.22lr. Gonna take a wild guess and say it was pretty damn close to the ground, and probably his property as well.

      • Re:

        What if someone sends up a drone in a public street with a telephoto lens and take pictures of you having sex with your wife in your third floor bedroom. You have a reasonable expectation of privacy if there are no other buildings that high around and yet the peeping tom and his toy is not on your property. What does the law say?

• But this is Florida, so....