New Jersey man charged with criminal mischief for using drone to drop neon-green sea dye into pools

A New Jersey man has been charged with using a drone multiple times to drop neon-green dye into area pools, the local Absecon Police Department announced Monday.

The attention of the APD was aroused by an Aug. 13 report from a homeowner who reported seeing a drone hover over their pool before dumping a dye into the water, turning it neon-green.

The dye, later investigation found, was sea dye, which turns water a noticeable neon green to aid in maritime rescues.

After that initial report, others came in, including from the Quality Inn in Galloway Township, New Jersey, which purportedly got hit by the drone numerous times over the summer.

“I saw it totally green and I was like, ‘Oh wow what is going on?’ So we saw a dye pack in the bottom of the pool and we didn’t know what it was,” said Sandra Woolstion, operator of the Quality Inn, describing the first dye incident in late June to WPVI-TV.

With the aid of the Federal Aviation Administration, New Jersey State Police and the Galloway Township Police Department, APD spotted the drone flying over the Quality Inn in another visit on Sept. 1.

Following the drone led APD to Comfort Solutions Heating and Cooling, also in Galloway Township. The business owner, Patrick Spina IV, 45, is accused of perpetrating the drone dye fly-bys. While APD said he faces multiple counts of criminal mischief, they did not specify how many.

The costs incurred to the Quality Inn and other victims run in the thousands; draining and refilling and canceled visits due to the closed pool cost Ms. Woolstion $20,000 alone, according to the New York Times, along with the costs of overtime for employees to monitor the pool and the potential $10,000 cost of having to refinish the pool.

If found responsible, Mr. Spina could also face a loss of his drone operation license and fines from the FAA.

“FAA regulations prohibit the unsafe or unauthorized operation of any aircraft. We encourage the public to report unauthorized drone operations to local law enforcement to help discourage this dangerous illegal activity,” the agency said in a statement to WPVI-TV. The fines could be as much as $30,000.