MEDINA, Ohio — A drone with thermal imaging technology helped the Medina Police Department arrest one of three people accused of stealing $4,500 worth of tech items, including iPads and iPhones, from the Target store in Medina Monday night.
Target employees told police that on Monday at approximately 9:57 p.m., three males took backpacks, iPhones and iPads from the store before fleeing in a Chevrolet Trailblazer.
Shortly after the theft, police spotted the Trailblazer on Weymouth Road.
The vehicle pulled into a driveway and the three males got out and fled on foot, prompting a short foot chase before police officers lost sight of them.
About two hours later, the Medina Police Department brought out one of their four drones to help locate the males on foot. Two of their drones, valued at $7,000, have thermal imaging.
Shortly after midnight, the drone was put up near Granger Road on a walking path that is near Lake Medina. The drone's thermal imaging helped locate one of the men who appeared to be hiding under a bridge.
Watch footage from the drone in the media player below:
The 28-year-old man was arrested without incident. He's charged with felony theft and obstructing official business, a misdemeanor. The other two males wanted in the theft are still at large, police said.
Since May, the police department has used the drone about 20 times for a variety of reasons, including finding missing persons and fires, like the one below in Medina in June.
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