Skydio X10 Drone Nails Shoplifting Suspect on Long Island

What started as a routine shoplifting call at a Dick’s Sporting Goods in Commack quickly escalated into chaos, sirens, and eventually a flying robot with heat vision. Suffolk County police say four people were involved in the alleged theft, scattering as officers arrived.

One suspect, 23 year old Anamaria Guzman of Hempstead, allegedly chose the loudest exit possible, fleeing in a 2025 Hyundai Sonata, crashing on Tulsa Street in Huntington, then abandoning the car and running on foot, as ABC7NY reported.

At that point, supervisors did what modern police departments increasingly do when suspects disappear into neighborhoods full of fences, sheds, and hiding spots. They called in the Skydio X10 drones as part of the county’s Drones as First Responders program, activated at 6:20 p.m.

Thermal vision steals the spotlight

The real star of this story was not the drone itself, but the Skydio X10’s thermal camera, which essentially turned the search area into a live heat map.

Operated remotely from the Crime Analysis Center in Yaphank and launched from the Second Precinct, the drone scanned backyards from above, ignoring darkness, foliage, and the classic “maybe they won’t see me here” strategy.

Within six minutes, the thermal camera spotted Guzman sitting in a backyard on Tulsa Street. To the drone, she was not hidden at all, just another warm shape glowing against a cooler landscape. Officers were guided directly to the location and had her in custody about a minute later, without incident.

Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina explained that the thermal view also highlighted heat from recently driven vehicles, including engines still radiating warmth, making it easier to understand where the suspect had been moments earlier. In other words, the drone did not just see the suspect, it read the scene like a detective with x ray glasses.

Charges filed and suspects still missing

Police say the incident involved a four vehicle crash, with one vehicle catching fire, adding urgency to the search. Guzman was transported to a hospital for evaluation and later charged with three counts of petit larceny, leaving the scene of a crash involving injuries, reckless driving, and unlawful fleeing.

Another suspect, 21 year old Mercedes Hough of Hempstead, was stopped in the parking lot and charged with petit larceny and possession of burglar’s tools.

Two additional suspects, a man and a woman, remain unidentified and at large. Both arrested women were released on desk appearance tickets and are expected to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip.

DroneXL’s Take

This was not a dramatic high speed aerial pursuit, and that is exactly the point. The Skydio X10’s thermal camera quietly ended a search that could have dragged on for hours, saving time, manpower, and probably a few very confused homeowners.

The lesson here is simple: when you run from the police in 2025, you are not just hiding from officers on the ground, you are hiding from a flying sensor that sees heat, not excuses, and it rarely loses the trail.

Photo credit: Suffolk County Police Department