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Drone Helps Catch Man Wanted For Brandishing Weapon On South Coast

(Oxnard Police Department photo)
Thermal imaging from the City of Oxnard's new police drone

A South Coast police department used a drone for the first time to help safely catch a man wanted for brandishing a weapon. Oxnard Police were called to the 1900 block of North Ventura Road just before midnight Tuesday by reports of a man with a gun.

Arriving officers say the suspect ran into a nearby neighborhood. The department’s new Unmanned Aerial System Unit responded. A drone equipped with a thermal imaging unit was deployed, which detected the man hiding on the backyard of a home. Officers used a loudspeaker on the drone calling for the man to come out of hiding.

Angel Perez surrendered without incident. The 28 year old man was arrested for brandishing a weapon, and being under the influence of drugs. It was determined the weapon was a replica of a handgun.

Oxnard Police were recently authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to use a drone, and this was its first deployment.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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