BOSTON — Two men accused of recklessly flying a drone close to Logan Airport over the weekend faced a judge on Monday.
42-year-old Robert Duffy of Charlestown and 32-year-old Jeremy Folcik of Bridgewater are facing charges of trespassing, breaking and entering, and violating a municipal ordinance or bylaw.
At Boston Municipal Court in Dorchester, Judge Erika Reis released both men on personal recognizance and ordered them not to operate drones and to stay away from Long Island.
Around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, Boston Police say they responded to an abandoned homeless and hospital campus on Long Island for a report of an unmanned aircraft being flown “in hazardous proximity” to Logan Airport.
“No trespassing” signs are posted throughout the shuttered Long Island campus.
Arriving officers spotted a light on in the building and a person walking by the second window. Police climbed to the second floor of the facility and reportedly found Duffy and Folcik, where Duffy allegedly told officers he had been flying a drone that was in his backpack.
Investigators say the two men told them they were transported to the island on a boat owned by a third man, who was not apprehended.
Using data from the drone’s serial number, officers identified six recorded flights on Saturday and seven recorded flights on December 7, according to police.
Both men will return to court on February 6 for pretrial hearings.
“There are many areas in Massachusetts to safely operate drones,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said. “But flying them from an area closed to the public while creating a potential public safety hazard in the process is conduct that will land people in court to answer to criminal charges, which is exactly what happened here.”
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