Police were called to Dick's Sporting Goods on Jericho Turnpike in Commack for a report of shoplifting involving a group. When officers arrived, they saw three women and a man leaving the store before fleeing westbound.
Police say one of the women, Anamaria Guzman, 23, entered a 2025 Hyundai Sonata and fled westbound, eventually crashing the vehicle on Tulsa Street. Guzman fled the crash on foot, prompting supervisors to activate the Drones as First Responders (DFR) program at 6:20 p.m. in the area of Tulsa Street in Huntington, where she was allegedly last seen.
The drone, operated from the Crime Analysis Center at Police Headquarters in Yaphank and launched from the Second Precinct, used thermal imaging to locate Guzman sitting in a backyard on Tulsa Street at 6:26 p.m. Officers responded to the backyard, and she was taken into custody just a minute after she was located.
"The engines in the cars are lit up, that's the heat-sensing technology showing you that that car had previously been in use," Commissioner Kevin Catalina with the Suffolk County Police Department said.
It started with a 911 call from the store that four people were shoplifting and Guzman made a chaotic getaway.
"It was a 4-vehicle accident, one of the vehicles caught on fire," Catalina said.
Police knew Guzman fled on foot, officers used flashlights and canvased on foot, but the drone technology made all the difference, police say.
"Quite frankly, might not have found her at all. You hide in a backyard, it's very difficult for us to search every backyard in a neighborhood," Catalina said.
Police apprehended Guzman without incident.
Guzman, of Hempstead, was transported to an area hospital for evaluation following the vehicle crash. She was charged with three counts of petit larceny, leaving the scene of a crash involving injuries, reckless driving, and unlawful fleeing.
A second woman, Mercedes Hough, 21, of Hempstead, fled the store on foot and was stopped in the parking lot. She was charged with petit larceny and possession of burglar's tools.
The man and woman, who have not been identified by police, are still on the loose.
Both women were released on desk appearance tickets and will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip at a later date.
----------
* More Long Island news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Follow us on YouTube