NEW JERSEY (PIX11) — A New Jersey man has been arrested for allegedly dropping chemical dye into residential and commercial pools by using his drone, police said.
Patrick Spina 4th, 45, of Absecon was charged with multiple counts of criminal mischief Friday regarding several incidents, police said.
The first incident occurred on Aug. 13 when a homeowner noticed a drone hovering over their yard and the pool had turned into a startling shade of green, police said. Similar complaints were reported at other locations including the Quality Inn in Galloway Township.
Investigators said the substance dropped from the drone into the pools was Sea Dye, used by sea rescue services, and caused extensive damage. Authorities, in a joint investigation, were able to track the drone’s path back to a New Jersey business owned by Spina, officials said.
Charline Charles is a digital journalist from Brooklyn who has covered local news along with culture and arts in the New York City area since 2019. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.
