N.J. man could be jailed 10 years for shooting down a drone

A Cape May County man has been indicted and could face as much as 10 years in prison after shooting down a drone last year.

The Cape May County Prosecutor's Office announced the indictment Tuesday against Russell Percenti, 33, on a second-degree charge of possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and a fourth-degree charge of criminal mischief.

The indictment stems the Sept. 26, 2014 shooting down of a remote control helicopter that was in the flying in the vicinity of Percenti’s home, located in the 1000 block of Seashore Road in the Erma section of Lower Township, according to the prosecutor's office.

The owner of the drone, said it was being used to capture photos of a friend's house that was under construction, the prosecutor's office said.

The owner heard several gunshots and simultaneously lost control of the drone, authorities said. When he recovered it, he found it was damaged and called the Lower Township Police Department.

The prosecutor's office noted second-degree crimes can carry sentences of 5 to 10 years.