California couple charged with using drone to make drug delivery

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Prosecutors filed felony charges against a probationer and his girlfriend, who allegedly sold drugs out of a Riverside home and used a drone to make deliveries. [NBC LA]

Last Thursday, Riverside police arrested Benjamin Paul Baldassarre, 39, and Ashley Lauren Carroll, 31, following an undercover investigation into illegal activity at the man’s home. After officers received a tip about drug dealing and began surveillance of the property, detectives observed a drone fly out of the backyard of the home to a nearby public parking area.

In the parking lot, the drone dropped a package, which several people were waiting to collect. Investigators then obtained a warrant and searched Baldassarre’s home.

Police found used and uncapped hypodermic syringes scattered throughout a bedroom. They also discovered an undisclosed amount of methamphetamine and unpackaged powders believed to contain fentanyl.

Officers took the couple into custody and turned over Baldassarre’s 9-year-old daughter to Riverside County Child Protective Services. CPS eventually released the girl to her mother.

Baldassarre has prior misdemeanor convictions for driving under the influence of drugs and being under the influence of a banned substance.

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2 Comments about “California couple charged with using drone to make drug delivery”

  2. SLOBorn says:

    Ingenuity at its worst?

    I was in Florida being trained at a new (for me) fast food concept, as the company I was working for was opening up two in the near future. I came into work one bright Tuesday morning and just as we opened the FBI, DEA and local authorities stormed the place. There must have been two dozen or more LEO’s in and around the place. They arrested a 10 plus year employee for drug distribution. This woman had been dealing anything and everything (but mostly cocaine) through the drive thru window. Through some simple “preorder process” from her home and then some coded order at the drive thru kiosk this woman had been doing a great amount of “business” for years.

    Give some folks a chance with this new and publically available technology and you’ll see this type of stuff more frequently, bet on it!

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