William Meredith had a legal right to shoot a drone out of the sky that was flying over his property, a judge ruled Monday.
Bullitt County District Court Judge Rebecca Ward also threw out the charges against Meredith during the court hearing, WDRB reports.
Meredith had been arrested on charges of criminal mischief and wanton endangerment after he shot a personal drone owned by David Boggs in Hillview, Ky. Ward felt that because the drone was flying low that Meredith was justified in his actions.
“He had a right to shoot at this drone, and I’m gonna dismiss this charge,” she said during the hearing, according to WDRB. (RELATED: Drone Drops Bale Of Weed On Arizona Home In Latest Case Of High-Tech Drug Smuggling)
Boggs claimed that the drone wasn’t flying low, but Ward’s decision came down to two eye-witnesses who agreed with Meredith that the drone was flying much lower than Boggs claimed.
“I wasn’t surprised at all, that charge should’ve never came about,” Meredith said after all the charges were dropped.
“I was in my right to protect my family and my property.” (RELATED: Student Builds Working GUN DRONE, Posts It On YouTube. What Could Go Wrong? [VIDEO])
He also hopes that the ruling serves as a precedent for future cases.
“The next time something like this happens, they’re gonna refer to it,” he predicted. “Now I don’t encourage people to just go out and start blasting stuff for no reason – but three times in one day, three times over the course of a year, six times total, over one property? That’s not right, that’s harassment.”