ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando police used drone technology to arrest a burglary suspect who tried to evade officers by hiding on a rooftop.
Police say the burglary happened during the early morning hours at Annie’s Food Mart in Orlando last Thursday. Store surveillance video shows a man taking his time inside the business, stealing rolled coins and cigarettes worth about $3,000.
Store owner Anna Patel said the man entered the store twice. She said she watched the break-in unfold in real-time on her phone and immediately called the police.
“He was taking the garbage bag and dumping everything inside. So, I called 9-1-1 to send police over as soon as possible,” Patel said.
As officers arrived and searched the area around the store. Patel said she arrived at her store and saw police searching.
“The guy was hiding somewhere, and police told me to stay in the car,” Patel said.
The suspect initially appeared to have escaped, but then officers launched a drone, which spotted the man perched on a chain-link structure near the business.
The drone’s thermal camera tracked the suspect climbing onto the roof of a nearby building, where he crawled across the rooftop in an effort to hide.
Eventually, officers ordered the suspect to come down and arrested him without further incident.
Police identified the suspect as Tyrell Staffine, 48. Officers say they recovered the stolen items, along with burglary tools.
Staffine faces multiple charges, including burglary of an unoccupied structure, grand theft, resisting an officer without violence, criminal mischief, and possession of burglary tools.
The arrest was made using one of the Orlando Police Department’s 20 drones assigned to its Drone First Responder (DFR) program. The drones are equipped with thermal cameras and speakers and are used to search remote or hard-to-see areas and communicate with suspects.
Orlando police told Channel 9 they are researching how the DFR program would best benefit OPD and the community, and if the program will expand.
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