OCALA, Fla. — An Eustis man was sentenced Friday to 15 months in federal prison for shooting at a Lake County Sheriff’s Office drone during a 2025 surveillance operation, U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced.
Justin Tyler Kress, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber in Ocala for the attempted destruction of an aircraft — in this case, a law enforcement drone. The court also ordered Kress to pay $8,200 in restitution.
Kress pleaded guilty on May 26 to the federal charge.
According to court documents, the incident began on March 4, 2025, when Lake County deputies used a drone to conduct physical surveillance of Kress on his rural, multi-acre property as they attempted to arrest him on a warrant for felony criminal mischief.
Before the arrest, Kress told neighbors he would shoot at law enforcement officers if they tried to take him into custody for damaging nearby fences, according to the filing.
After arresting Kress, deputies obtained a search warrant and found 20-gauge shotgun shells in the area where he had been shooting at the drone. Inside his residence, investigators located three firearms: a 20-gauge shotgun, a rifle, and a pistol.
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