Not So Fast, Not So Furious Train Heist Ends by Drone

It is like The Fast and the Furious, only not so fast and just a little less furious. Add a freight train, a drone quietly minding its own business in the morning sky, and three men who seemed unaware that railroads no longer rely on luck and binoculars. Chicago’s South Side delivered a modern crime story that feels less like an action movie and more like a blooper reel filmed from above.

Earlier this month, a moving freight train rolling through the Englewood neighborhood became the stage for a burglary that ended almost as soon as it began, as FOX32 Chicago reported. The difference maker was not sharper instincts or faster patrol cars. It was a drone.

A Heist Watched From the Sky

Around 6:30 a.m. on December 19, Cook County Sheriff’s police were working with Norfolk Southern Railroad on a cargo theft suppression operation near 60th Place and Stewart Avenue. This was not a random patrol. This was targeted, coordinated, and quietly airborne.

Using a drone, officers spotted two people on top of a moving freight train. That alone is a sentence that should trigger alarm bells for anyone involved, but the morning was just getting started. The pair allegedly broke into a shipping container, pulled out several packages, and tossed them to the ground like they were late for delivery and gravity was the fastest courier available.

Once their improvised unloading was complete, both men jumped off the train and disappeared briefly into a nearby alley. In older stories, this is where things get fuzzy. Witnesses disagree. Suspects vanish. Paperwork piles up.

This time, the drone had already captured the entire sequence with the calm confidence of a device that does not blink or panic.

Officers moved in quickly and took two men into custody near the 300 block of West 60th Place. They were identified as 25 year old Shaun Smythe of Calumet City and 26 year old Marcus Moore of Chicago.

The Minivan Escape That Was Not

The drone also spotted a third man on the tracks. Perhaps sensing that climbing trains was no longer a winning strategy, he chose a different escape plan. Police say he got into a Chrysler minivan and drove off.

This is the part where the soundtrack would normally swell. Tires screech. The hero pursues. In reality, police chased the minivan and stopped it near the 100 block of West 87th Street. The driver, 44 year old Errol Miller, was arrested without the cinematic flourish.

Miller was charged with burglary and trespassing, along with aggravated fleeing and eluding. He also picked up several traffic citations during the chase, which feels less like an add on and more like the legal system politely stacking receipts.

All three men were charged with burglary and trespassing. Police also confirmed that Miller and Moore were on pre trial release for prior burglary cases at the time of their arrest. Smythe, meanwhile, was not under similar conditions.

After their first court appearance on December 20, all three were released on the new charges. However, Miller and Moore remain held at the Cook County Jail for allegedly violating the terms of their pre-trial release from their previous cases. Smythe was released from custody after his appearance.

According to court records, all three men were due back in court on January 8.

Drones and the New Reality of Train Security

Beyond the humor and the almost cinematic setup, this case highlights something important. Railroads have long been vulnerable to theft, especially in urban areas where trains slow down and access becomes easier. For years, cargo theft depended on blind spots, timing, and the assumption that no one was watching closely enough.

Drones erase those assumptions.

A single aerial platform can monitor moving trains, follow suspects without being noticed, and provide clean, continuous footage that turns complicated investigations into straightforward prosecutions. There is no guessing who did what or when.

The drone simply records, quietly and without emotion, while people on the ground make increasingly questionable decisions.

There is also an unintentional irony here. The suspects acted as if the world still worked in two dimensions, left and right, alley and street. Meanwhile, the third dimension was wide awake, hovering above, documenting everything in high resolution.

It is not that drones make crime impossible. It is that they make old school methods feel outdated, almost naive. Climbing onto a moving train in 2025 is no longer bold. It is optimistic at best.

DroneXL’s Take

This Chicago train burglary is funny on the surface, but it is also a clean example of how drones are quietly reshaping law enforcement and infrastructure security. The tech does not chase, shout, or escalate.

It simply watches, records, and hands over a clear story that is very hard to argue with later. If this really is like The Fast and the Furious, then drones are the unseen cameras that reveal the truth behind the action, reminding everyone that in the modern world, the sky is no longer empty, and it is paying very close attention.

Photo credit: FOX 32