One Seattle, Washington, man, fed up with the ongoing lawlessness in his city, has chosen to transform one of his hobbies into a crime-fighting tool.
Tony, a 39-year-old husband and father whose car and trailer were recently stolen, now utilizes his drone to assist others in recovering their stolen stuff.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 2,000 automobiles have been stolen in the city, with more than 13,000 additional burglaries and thefts.
Tony, disgusted by the atrocities, looked for ways to track down his own property. That’s when he discovered the “PNW Stolen Cars,” Facebook group, which allows auto theft victims to exchange details about their stolen property in the hopes of retrieving it.
Tony was escorted to an encampment beneath the First Avenue Bridge in Seattle’s Georgetown area by the organization. The trash-filled location is reportedly well-known as a chop shop, where individuals illegally dismantle automobiles to sell their components and homeless people take illegal substances in broad daylight.
He became suspicious after seeing someone walking about with a Sawzall and climbing underneath a car, and he saw that the encampment is full of rows and rows of automobiles, many of which are entirely damaged.
Tony has flown his drone over the region several times since then, looking for stolen stuff. He informed reporters that he has already assisted two people in getting their cars back.
Some of the robbers in the campsite observed Tony’s drone flying overhead on another occasion. One pulled out what seemed to be a revolver and fired a shot at the drone, hitting it only inches from its lens. Thankfully, the weapon turned out to be nothing more than a BB pistol.
The campsite under the First Avenue Bridge has been known to Seattle police for months, but they have been unable to do anything about it.
Jamie Housen, a representative for Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office, acknowledged to the source that the city had received complaints about campsite obstacles, garbage build-up, environmental damage, and public safety in this location during the previous few months.
