Brooklyn Men Charged with Flying Drone Over Louisiana Chemical Plants

According to the arrest records, two men from Brooklyn, New York, have been taken into custody and charged with operating a drone while allegedly flying it over three chemical plants in the state of Louisiana.

Both 38-year-old Volodymyr Dorogobid and 39-year-old Tigran Avetisyan have been charged with three misdemeanor counts of illegal use of an unmanned aircraft and one felony count of tampering with evidence.

On February 21, it was said that two men were flying a drone over the Dow Chemical, Linde, and Air Liquide facilities in Louisiana.

Trying to hide the drone

After receiving a call about a drone flying over Dow Chemical in Hahnville, the local authorities located the men who were in possession of the drone in a black Kia Sportage that was parked on the shoulder of LA 3142.

When the officials showed up, the men were told to land the drone, which they did by putting it on top of the levee, according to the records.

Both men went to “get the drone with a bag,” the investigators reportedly said.

“They were on the (top of levee) for approximately five minutes and returned with the bag,” the arrest records said.

After that, according to the detectives, the men refused to show them the drone and also refused to answer any additional questions. Later, they learned that the men had tried to hide the drone by putting it in a field.

Greg Champagne, the sheriff of St. Charles Parish, made the following statement: “We are working with the FBI on this case. We confiscated their drones, cell phones and goggles.”

The men have since bonded out.

Photo courtesy of: Dow Chemical