Brookhaven Police Drone Helps Capture Fleeing Felon

BROOKHAVEN — A police drone is being credited with assisting in the capture of a felon who was attempting to flee police Wednesday in Brookhaven.

Brookhaven Police arrested 27-year-old Alton Johnson and 30-year-old Shyquan Collins who were wanted in a violent armed robbery that occurred in Charlotte, North Carolina earlier in the day.

Officers were alerted by a nearby license plate reader of a felony vehicle in the area of N. Druid Hills Rd & Buford Highway. The alert also said the occupants were potentially armed. Officers learned after the arrests that Johnson was accused of shooting the victim in the Charlotte armed robbery before fleeing to Georgia.

An officer located the vehicle parked in the CVS parking lot at 2910 Buford Hwy with a male suspect standing outside of the vehicle. The officer gave verbal commands and Johnson was detained in handcuffs.

Within seconds of locating the vehicle, the Brookhaven Police Drone First Responder arrived on scene and provided aerial coverage. 

Officers learned that the second suspect was inside the store and upon seeing an officer, Collins ran to the back of the store in an attempt to evade capture.

The drone operator maintained situational awareness over the incident and alerted ground units when Collins ran out the rear door. 

The drone operator maintained visual of Collins as he ran into the woods away from the CVS and provided ground units with continuous updates on his position until he was successfully taken into custody. 

Collins was later found to have a warrant for his arrest out of the state of New York and further investigation revealed a stolen firearm inside of the vehicle.

Both Johnson and Collins were arrested for multiple charges and transported to the DeKalb County Detention Center.

Brookhaven Police Chief Gary Yandura said, “This is yet another example of how we continue to implement state of the art technology and training to advance our mission to make Brookhaven safe for our residents and visitors.” 

The Brookhaven Police Department successfully launched the Drone First Responder program in April 2021 with the goal of providing aerial support and real time intelligence to first responders within seconds of being notified of an incident on the ground.

⚠️ Reminder: Crime articles contain only charges and information from police reports and law enforcement statements. Suspects and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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