SCHENECTADY, NY — Police arrested a man on weapon charges after using a drone to track and apprehend him following a report of a person with a gun.
Officers responded to the area of 41 Steinmetz Homes at approximately 9:15 a.m. on May 27, 2026, after a woman reported a man had menaced her with a handgun.
A police drone pilot deployed a department drone to the location and quickly located the suspect fleeing the area.
The drone pilot provided responding officers with the suspect’s location from above and observed him attempting to conceal himself in a backyard.
Another officer assisted the drone pilot and used the drone’s speaker system to issue verbal commands to the suspect.
Officers gained the suspect’s compliance and directed him to place his hands in the air before officers on the ground took him into custody.
The suspect was safely taken into custody without further incident.
Officers recovered a handgun in a nearby yard shortly afterward.
Julio R. Duran, 25, of Schenectady, was arrested and charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and menacing in the second degree.
The firearm was one of five removed from Schenectady streets in the last week, according to police.
