A beachgoer who tossed a T-shirt into the propellers of a low-flying drone, causing it to crash, was arrested on a felony vandalism charge in Encinitas.
Augustine Lehecka says he considered the drone, which was outfitted with a camera, intrusive and dangerous when it flew over his group of friends on Sunday at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Wednesday that the 53-year-old electronics engineer spent about eight hours in jail before posting $10,000 bail. Prosecutors this week declined to press charges.
In an interview with KNSD-TV, the operator, who works for a drone company and asked to not be named, says he was flying at a safe distance above the crowd and wasn't invading anyone's privacy. He estimates the damage at about $750.
