Aberdeen Police drone pilot spots burglary suspects on building’s roof

ABERDEEN, Wash. — With the help of an Aberdeen Police drone pilot, two men were arrested Monday morning, accused of breaking into a building in the downtown area over the weekend.

At about 1 a.m. on Saturday, an employee of the building in the 100 block of South I Street was off-site when he saw two men on the second floor through surveillance cameras.

Officers from the Aberdeen and Cosmopolis police departments and a Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit went to the scene, along with an Aberdeen drone team officer, who deployed an aircraft to provide an overhead view of the area.

While officers searched the building, the drone pilot saw two heat signatures move onto the roof. They were the two suspects who were seen on the building’s surveillance footage earlier.

Officers and the K-9 unit made their way onto the roof access and arrested the two suspects, who were then booked into the Aberdeen Jail.

The two suspects, a 53-year-old and a 43-year-old, were interviewed. Aberdeen Police said the men told them they entered the building and moved one of the surveillance cameras to avoid being seen.

One of the men said he ran to the roof after police arrived because he didn’t want to be caught inside the building.

Both men were charged with second-degree burglary and will be taken to the Grays Harbor County Jail.

The 43-year-old man was also charged in Aberdeen Municipal Court for possession of a controlled substance.

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