Father who shot down drone hovering over his house as his daughters sunbathed is arrested and charged - sparking new privacy debate

Father who shot down drone hovering over his house as his daughters sunbathed is arrested and charged - sparking new privacy debate



William H. Merideth, 47, shot down the $1,800 drone after being alerted by by his two daughters

Another neighbor has told how it was hovering over her 16-year-old daughter too 

The owner of the drone claims he was only trying to take pictures of a friend's house

Merideth has been charged with first-degree criminal mischief and first-degree wanton endangerment for shooting the gadget

The FAA is still scrambling to design rules about drone use and control 

A father has been arrested after shooting down an $1,800 drone that was reportedly hovering over his two sunbathing daughters.
William H. Merideth, 47, from Kentucky was charged with first-degree criminal mischief and first-degree wanton endangerment.


The owner of the drone claims he was only trying to take pictures of a friend's house when Merideth shot at the device, sending it crashing into a field near his yard last weekend.

Scroll down for video 

He shot the $1,800 drone down from out of the sky and it crashed in his backyard in Hillview, Kentucky

According to the Academy of Model Aeronautics safety code, unmanned aircraft like this drone (file picture) have to be launched at least 100 feet downwind of spectators
'Sunday afternoon, the kids – my girls – were out on the back deck, and the neighbors were out in their yard," Merideth told WDRD. 'And they come in and said, "Dad, there’s a drone out here, flying over everybody’s yard." 
'I went and got my shotgun and I said, "I'm not going to do anything unless it's directly over my property,"' he added.
At that time, the drone was hovering over the house of a neighbor, Kim VanMater, who has a 16-year-old daughter who likes to lay out by the pool.
VanMeter said: '(The drone) was just hovering above our house and it stayed for a few moments and then my daughter finally waved and it took off.'

Homeowner explains why he shot drone hovering over house



ug shot: Merideth was apprehended for wanton endangerment and criminal mischief
It then allegedly flew over the Merideths' garden. 
Mr Merideth said: 'Within a minute or so, here it came. It was hovering over top of my property, and I shot it out of the sky. I didn't shoot across the road, I didn't shoot across my neighbor's fences, I shot directly into the air.'


Four men were about to confront him after the drone was shot out of the sky, but he says they soon changed their minds when they saw his firearms. 
'I had my Glock on me and they started toward me and I told them, "If you cross my sidewalk, there's gonna be another shooting,"' Mr. Merideth told the station.

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