Five minutes after Ohio State kicked off with Maryland on Saturday, officials paused the action because one or more referees detected a drone that flew over Ohio Stadium as the game took place. The drone's pilot was arrested over the weekend.
A brief... drone delay?pic.twitter.com/9w7YXIfUh3
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 7, 2023
According to documents NBC4 obtained, Columbus police officers arrested Rigoberto Canaca Escoto of Lawrenceville, Georgia, on Saturday. The 28-year-old faces the following charges:
- Unsafe operation of an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner
- Two counts of aircraft operation without a license
- Inducing panic by committing an offense with reckless regard
- Disorderly conduct in a physically offensive condition
Columbus police found Canaca Escoto after members of the CPD counterterrorism unit spotted the drone and followed it to the Lennox Town Center, a shopping center located approximately 1.6 miles from Ohio Stadium.
In a document submitted to the Franklin County Municipal Court, a CPD detective wrote that Canaca Escoto told authorities he had purchased the drone at Best Buy on Friday. The criminal complaint also revealed that Canaca Escoto does not possess a TRUST certificate – required for all drone pilots as a mark of basic aerial knowledge and safety. Additionally, Canaco Escoto told the detective that he wanted to "see how far he could fly the drone" but lost visual of the device as it moved toward Ohio Stadium.
“Rigoberto stated that, while over the crowded stadium, he lost control of the aircraft for a period of approximately three minutes, creating an additional risk of physical harm to all attendees,” the CPD detective wrote in the complaint.
The drone’s flight over Ohio Stadium during a game violated a temporary flight restriction, as the device entered a no-fly zone within a three-mile radius of the venue. The Federal Aviation Administration enforces the no-fly zone one hour before an athletic event until one hour after.
According to court records, Canaca Escoto had an arraignment at 9 a.m. on Monday.
