By Bonnie Culverhouse

While drones can aid law enforcement, some persons with bad intentions make use of them, too.

Webster Parish Sheriff’s deputies arrested Thomas Robert Minshall, 62, of the 400 block of Oak Drive, Doyline, when it was reported around 8 p.m. Tuesday that he was flying a drone over another person’s house.

“Deputy Phelps was dispatched to a Dogwood Road location after a female subject reported Minshall had been flying his drone and recording a family member for the past couple of days,” Sheriff Jason Parker said. “Just before she called, he was reportedly sitting at the corner of her driveway, flying his drone in her yard. She confronted him, telling him to leave and not record.”

After the female walked inside, her roommate reportedly notified her the drone was almost at the front door.

“As she walked back outside, the drone hit a tree and landed in her yard,” said the sheriff. “She grabbed the drone and was charged by Minshall. He grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the ground. She went on to tell the deputy that Minshall made several lewd and sexual remarks to her and has chased the family member with the drone.”

Witnesses reportedly confirmed Minshall threw the female to the ground and grabbed her hair while wrestling the drone from her. One witness also reportedly stated Minshall had threatened her and another family member to “shave their heads with the drone and had chased them four or five times with it, most recently March 14.”

Minshall was arrested and charged with trespassing, trespassing with an unmanned aerial vehicle, simple battery and as a peeping tom.

This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.