Report: DeKalb man sentenced after using drone to drop bag of pot into prison

A Lithonia man will spend four years behind bars after he used a drone in an attempt to drop marijuana into a Middle Georgia prison, Macon-based news station WGXA reported.

Eric Lee Brown, 35, pleaded guilty to the charge of operating an aircraft eligible for registration knowing that the aircraft is not registered to facilitate a controlled substance offense, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Georgia.

This case is believed to be the first under the drone registration law to see a conviction. AJC.com previously reported.

RELATED: Georgia man admits he tried to use drone to drop pot into prison

Brown used the drone in March 2018 to drop a bag of marijuana into Autry State Prison, located 40 miles south of Albany.

After deputies responded to a call of a vehicle impending traffic, they found Brown inside his car with 294 grams of marijuana in plastic bags. His drone was also not registered to fly legally.

After Brown serves four years in prison, he will spend three years on supervised release, WGXA reported.