Police Drone Aids River Park Theft Arrests

Fresno police said this week that a newly deployed first-responder drone helped officers track down two retail theft suspects after a call from the River Park area on May 6. Officers were sent to a Dick’s Sporting Goods near Shaw and Valentine avenues at about 2 p.m. after a report that a man inside the store was concealing merchandise, according to the Fresno Police Department and local television reports. The department’s drone located a gray Honda Pilot linked to the suspects and followed it as it moved west on Shaw Avenue and then south on Brawley Avenue. Officers later stopped the vehicle near Weber and Brawley avenues, arrested two people and found additional suspected stolen merchandise inside, police said. ### Where did the case start, and what did police say the suspects did? Dick’s Sporting Goods near Shaw and Valentine avenues was the first scene officers were sent to on May 6, after store staff or witnesses reported a man hiding merchandise in the front of his shorts, according to Fresno police. The call came from the River Park area, and police said the drone was dispatched as part of the department’s first-responder program. (yourcentralvalley.com) A gray Honda Pilot became the focus once the drone reached the scene, police said. Video from the aircraft showed the SUV traveling west on Shaw Avenue before turning south on Brawley Avenue, giving patrol officers a live track as they moved to intercept it. ### Who was arrested, and what was recovered? (yourcentralvalley.com) Weber and Brawley avenues is where officers stopped the vehicle and identified its occupants as suspects in the theft, according to Fresno police. The department said officers also linked the pair to an earlier theft the same day at another Dick’s Sporting Goods store in northeast Fresno. (yourcentralvalley.com) Ricardo DeJuarez, 39, and Yvonne Moreno, 43, were arrested on suspicion of grand theft, police said. The Honda Pilot was impounded, and officers found additional suspected stolen merchandise inside the vehicle, according to the department. ### What role did the drone play in the arrest? Lt. Robert Dewey told YourCentralValley that the drone gave officers real-time information during the response and let them watch the suspects’ vehicle as it left the store area. (yourcentralvalley.com) Dewey said the system can stream video directly to officers’ phones, giving patrol units a live picture before they make contact. Dewey said the May 6 case showed the value of the new setup. “Had it not been for the drone versus one program, we never would have caught him that day,” he told the station. Dewey also said patrol officers have been requesting the aircraft more often as the program has expanded in recent months. ### How new is Fresno’s drone program? (yourcentralvalley.com) Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto announced the department’s Drone as First Responder program in April, according to ABC30. The program uses three drones stationed in different parts of the city to respond to calls, and Casto said the department had already used standard drones since 2019 before shifting to the new first-response model. (yourcentralvalley.com) Since late March, Fresno police drones equipped with infrared and night-vision capability have assisted on hundreds of calls, according to Officer.com’s report on the launch. Fresno’s 2019 city policy on unmanned aerial systems says the drones are to be used for official city business and sets rules for storage and dissemination of images and data. (abc30.com) ### What do police say the drones are used for beyond tracking suspects? Dewey said the first-responder drone can also be used as a de-escalation tool. He told YourCentralValley that operators can lower the aircraft to about 50 feet and make announcements over a loudspeaker, which he said can reduce the need for an immediate face-to-face confrontation. (officer.com) ABC30 reported in April that Fresno’s three docked drones were placed in parts of the city where officers expected frequent calls, including areas with retail theft concerns. Casto said at the launch that the aircraft provide live aerial video to officers and incident commanders before patrol units arrive. (yourcentralvalley.com) ### What happens next in this case? Organized Retail Theft detectives are still working to identify additional victims tied to the May 6 arrests, Fresno police said. The department has not publicly listed any court dates for DeJuarez or Moreno in the reports reviewed. May 13 was the date Fresno television station KSEE/KGPE highlighted the River Park case as an example of the department’s new drone program. (abc30.com) Fresno police said the arrests closed multiple cases, while detectives continue tracing other possible thefts linked to the suspects. (yourcentralvalley.com) (yourcentralvalley.com)