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Anthony Spina, 31, was indicted for third-degree criminal mischief and conspiracy to commit criminal mischief, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release on Monday, Dec. 16.
Investigators said Spina plotted with another person to fly drones over commercial and residential properties between Thursday, June 1, 2023, and Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. The pair reportedly dropped dye packs into swimming pools, turning the water greenish-yellow, alarming property owners and resulting in remediation costs of more than $2,000.
Prosecutors said Spina specifically targeted an Atlantic City condominium complex between Wednesday, Aug. 2, and Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. During that time, the drones were used several times to drop dye packs into a pool, again causing damages of more than $2,000.
Tracking software tied the drone flights to Spina and his co-conspirator, officials said. The investigation led to the seizure of at least one drone and several digital devices, which prosecutors say implicated Spina in the scheme.
Spina was arrested following the investigation, which remained ongoing.
While seemingly unrelated, Spina's indictment came amid a recent surge in drone sightings reported across New Jersey. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently confirmed that people are seeing drones in increasing numbers.
Secretary Mayorkas said while some of the reported sightings are drones, others are manned aircraft commonly mistaken for drones.
"There's no question that people are seeing drones," Secretary Mayorkas said on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" on Sunday, Dec. 15. "And I want to assure the American public that we, in the federal government, have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology, to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings."
Anyone with information about suspicious drones was asked to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit tips online.
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