CORONA — Daniel Verley, whose drone crashed into the stands of the U.S. Open mid game, was sentenced to five days of community service, the Queens District Attorney announced Friday.
District Attorney Richard Brown determined Verley "never intended to allow his drone to fly into the stadium and that he, in fact, lost control of the drone."
But the DA still urged "hobbyists and other members of the public to use common sense when choosing to employ these unmanned vehicles," especially in public spaces.
Verley, 26, was taking photos of the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park on the evening of Sept. 3 when he lost his signal with the high-flying apparatus, his lawyer, Andrew Marshall, told DNAinfo last month.
It flew off near a canopy of trees and later landed into empty seats during a U.S. Open match, the DA and his lawyer said.
He was also trying to learn how to use it so he could implement it into the curriculum at his high school, where he teaches science, according to his lawyer.
"Certainly there was nothing malicious in what he was doing," Marshall explained.
Once he completes his community service, his charges will be dismissed in six months if he "lives a law-abiding life," the DA said.
