By SDCN Editor
El Cajon, CA–The El Cajon Police Department used drones to detain and arrest a man for stealing cases of Red Bull concealed in a stolen suitcase, authorities said.
On August 16, El Cajon Police received a call around 1 p.m. of a retail theft at Target in the 200 block of Broadway in El Cajon.
The store’s security team reported a man using a suitcase from the luggage area to load and conceal seven cases of Red Bull beverages. The man exited the store with about $300 worth of stolen merchandise and fled on foot. Officers from the department’s Drone Unit flew a drone to the area to search for the suspect before patrol officers arrived at the store. The Drone Unit remotely observed the man pulling the suitcase down the sidewalk and directed responding officers to his location. The man was detained and was found in possession of the stolen merchandise, according to the El Cajon Police Department.
Officers identified the suspect as 34-year-old Jason Jaeger, of Santee. He was arrested for shoplifting and burglary. Jaeger had a warrant for arrest from an unrelated separate shoplifting burglary case. The warrant was confirmed and Jaeger was booked into San Diego County Central Jail.
“The El Cajon Police Department will use every resource available to hold criminals who commit these types of thefts accountable. Criminal Acts will not be tolerated and will have consequences for those who commit them,” Police Chief Mike Moulton stated in a news release.
The El Cajon Police Department uses technology such as drones to combat retail theft and enhance public safety in El Cajon.
