Police Use Aerial Surveillance Drone to Intercept Suspected Mail Thieves in Irvine Neighborhood
IRVINE, CA — Two men were arrested on suspicion of mail theft, identity theft, and conspiracy after an Irvine Police Department drone pilot spotted suspicious activity in a residential area.
A Drone as First Responder (DFR) pilot monitored a pickup truck traveling slowly through a neighborhood. Aerial video captured the vehicle’s two occupants stopping at a row of community mailboxes and removing mail belonging to local residents.
The drone pilot maintained visual contact with the vehicle and guided ground officers to the location to conduct an intercept stop.
Police officers arrested the occupants, identified as 38-year-old Nicholas James Hooper and 35-year-old Robert Patrick Zimmerman. Both men were booked into the Orange County Jail on charges including mail theft, identity theft, and conspiracy.
