THE CASE OF THE “SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT” AND THE MYSTERIOUS DRONE SALE
This one’s too good not to share!๐ฅ
During a DroneSense 2025 Sales Kickoff in Austin, a Mavic 3T drone worth $6,700 was stolen out of the victim’s truck. The victim is the product management manager at DroneSense, a company that develops drone software for public safety, law enforcement, and emergency response.
A few days later, a friend of DroneSense spotted a Facebook Marketplace listing for a Mavic 3T. At first glance, it looked like a regular drone sale, but he soon realized it was likely the stolen drone, due to a few key details that stood out:
โข The drone case had a DroneSense sticker.
โข In a video, the seller held up a distinctive challenge coin that had been given for participation in last year’s Texas DPS SAR X.
The listing pointed to Pasadena, TX, so he contacted Andrew Aleman (Deputy of Emergency Management), a friend and DroneSense customer, employed by the Pasadena Police Department. Andrew quickly made contact with the Pasadena Auto Crimes Unit, which lead to the eventual felony arrest of two individuals, for theft of property over $2,500 and evading arrest.
THE SUSPECT’S VERSION OF EVENTS
So, our suspect had quite the story. When caught, he explained that his “cousin stole” (yes, stole) the drone and then gave him a callโbecause, you know, he was the “subject matter expert” when it came to selling stolen goods, with a certification on Drones sales. That makes sense, right?
Wanting to flex his expertise, our suspect decided to list the drone on Facebook Marketplace, complete with a detailed description of its features. And by detailed, we mean something like:
” We got the remoteโฆ The batteryโฆ Thisโฆ Thisโฆ Some other stuff on hereโฆ Chargerโฆ Chargerโฆ Some Someโฆ Umhmm โฆ We got the chargersโฆ(Mumbles)โฆ Chargers for the batteryโฆ (Mumbles)โฆ There something else in itโ
Indeed, an expert-level sales pitch.
A good, law-abiding citizen bought the drone for $2,000, despite the suspectโs less-than-stellar product description. But, our suspect wasn’t done yet! Oh noโthere’s more!
The suspect used the same video to sell the drone againโexcept he no longer had it.
Undeterred, he found another interested buyer (we are not going to say who, but it starts with Pasadena and ends with Department.) He was asked why he was still selling an item he no longer had in his possession. Was he trying to commit robbery?
The suspect responded:
“Not robโฆ I was just trying to finesse some more money out of it.”
Ah, yes, because “finesse” is clearly a much more legal business strategy.
Unfortunately for our self-proclaimed expert, law enforcement wasn’t too impressed with his entrepreneurial skills. Thanks to some solid detective work, Pasadena PD swooped in, made the arrest, and recovered the stolen droneโmaking this a win for the rightful owner and a perfect example of why some people should stick to their day jobs.
Shoutout to Andrew Aleman with Pasadena Emergency Management for quickly connecting the dots and getting the right team involved!
Great work by the Pasadena Police Department Auto Crime Unit for seeing it through and closing this one! ๐๐
Pasadena Police Department
