A Leitchfield man has been arrested after being spotted by a drone following his violation of a domestic violence protective order (DVO) taken out by the suspect’s elderly mother.
Just after midnight Saturday morning, Grayson County Deputies Caleb Owens, Andy Cast and Joel Baker were dispatched to Armes-Lively Road after an elderly female called dispatch to report that her son, 40-year-old Henry Harris, had been banging on her door and hiding in a barn on her property.
The woman said Harris “had made threats to harm her, made fraudulent charges on her debit card and even assaulted her in the past,” according to Sheriff Norman Chaffins. “The investigation also revealed that he had been terrorizing her on a consistent basis.”
Upon deputies arriving at the scene, they determined Harris was likely still on the property.
Deputies requested Grayson Co. Special Deputy and drone pilot, Blake Schroerlucke, who arrived within minutes and deployed the drone, which spotted Harris in a ditch about 100 yards from his mother’s home, Chaffins stated.
Using the FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) on the drone, Schroerlucke led deputies to Harris. As deputies approached, Chaffins said “a short foot pursuit ensued through barbed wire fences and rough terrain,” with Owens capturing the suspect.
Harris was taken to Owensboro Health Twin Lakes Medical Center for medical clearance due to cuts from the barbed wire fence.
He was lodged in the Grayson County Detention Center and charged with second-degree wanton endangerment of a police officer, fleeing or evading police (on foot), third-degree criminal mischief, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and violating an EPO/DVO.
“The drone that the county received is a valuable tool for our law enforcement,” Chaffins stated. “In this case, we were able to prevent a potentially violent domestic by apprehending the perpetrator before he hurt someone. This was a perfect situation to use the drone. It not just kept our deputies safe, but our K-9 as well as we did not have to deploy Zeus to locate the suspect.”
(Headline photo: Grayson County deputies arresting Henry Harris, as seen from the drone that spotted the suspect, courtesy of the Grayson Co. Sheriff’s Office)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
