Drones are increasingly becoming a part of everyday life.
But not everyone is happy about this fact.
And a Florida retiree was arrested for committing this shocking crime against a delivery drone.
Florida man shot a Walmart delivery drone that came onto his property
Major retailers like Walmart are experimenting with drones to make home deliveries.
Not everyone is welcoming package delivery taking to the skies.
Dennis Winn, a 72-year-old, was startled when he saw a drone hovering outside of his home in Clermont, Florida while he was working on his pool.
He tried to shoo the drone away because he thought that it was watching him.
The drone hovered in place and eventually lowered a rope toward the ground.
Winn treated it like an intruder and went into his home to get his Sig Sauer handgun.
He fired one shot that hit the drone and sent it fleeing from his home.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office received a phone call about a gunshot in the residential neighborhood that Winn lived in.
Sheriff’s deputies showed up at his home and Winn admitted he shot the mysterious drone.
It turned out the drone was part of a program from Walmart to showcase the potential of drones for delivery.
Florida man sh**ts at a Walmart delivery drone with a pistol and then jokes with police officers that he “can’t breathe” when they put handcuffs on him.
Absolute legend.
72-year-old Dennis Winn shot at a Walmart drone with his 9mm after it flew over his property.
Winn said he… pic.twitter.com/I1iFoJvdsW
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 5, 2024
Winn was cooperative with the police who told him that they had to arrest him for discharging a firearm in public.
“I fired one round at it,” Winn said in police bodycam footage. “They say I hit it, so I must be a good shot, or else it’s not that far away … I’m going to wind up having to find a real good defense lawyer.”
He seemed genuinely surprised that he was in trouble because he thought the drone was trespassing on his property.
Winn was charged with discharging a firearm in public, criminal mischief, and shooting an aircraft.
“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,” Winn joked when the police cuffed him.
Florida man gets a plea deal for unloading on a drone
Winn, a retired firefighter from New Jersey, struck a plea deal that will result in the felony and misdemeanor charges being dropped against him if he completes a diversion program.
He must pay $5000 in restitution to the Virginia-based DroneUp Delivery company that was operating the drones for Walmart.
The company estimated that the damage done to the drone was $2,500 after Winn got a direct hit on it which rendered it “inoperable.”
Winn hit the drone when it was about 75 feet off the ground.
Walmart announced that it would start using drones for delivery in 2021.
The retailer has launched pilot programs in Texas, Florida, and Arizona to make deliveries.
Fast food restaurants like Chick-fil-A and Wendy’s are also testing drone technology for deliveries.
Walmart claims that its drone delivery program has been a success so far.
“Over the last two years trialing drone delivery, we’ve completed over 20,000 safe deliveries,” Walmart stated.
The world’s largest retailer did not plan on how to handle a Florida man with a gun.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this story.
