Oroville Man Jailed After Allegedly Shooting, Damaging Police Drone

An Okanogan County man is in jail after police say he shot and damaged a police drone with a stolen gun after recklessly discharging the same weapon hours earlier.

The Okanogan County Sheriff's Office says it happened on Sunday night when Justen S. Williams of Oroville shot a gun in an unsafe manner at the home he shares with his family, causing all but one of them to flee the residence.

Deputies and members of the East Cascade SWAT Team responded to the home and learned that Williams had also fled with the firearm into the surrounding wilderness.

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Responders then used a drone to locate Williams and advise him that he was under arrest and to surrender, but he defied the commands and discharged the gun at the drone, damaging the device.

Finally, deputies utilized non-lethal weapons to subdue Williams and take him into custody.

During the standoff, it was learned that Williams was suspected of stealing the firearm he allegedly used recklessly at the residence and to damage the sheriff's office drone.

He was booked into the Okanogan County Jail on suspicion of burglary, theft of a firearm, and unlawful possession of a firearm, with potential federal charges pending for discharging a weapon at an aircraft.

Williams, a convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms, also had an outstanding warrant for assaulting Okanogan County Corrections Department deputies during a previous incarceration.

Sheriff's officials called the Sunday incident "dangerous" and "complex" and thanked their partners with the East Cascade SWAT Team for assisting in Williams arrest.