LOUISVILLE — A Kentucky man who admitted to shooting down a neighbor’s drone, had his case dismissed earlier this week. Now William H. Merideth, who calls himself the “drone slayer,” is declaring victory.

Monday afternoon, Bullitt County Judge Rebecca Ward dismissed the case against Merideth, who acknowledged shooting down a drone he said was hovering over his home last July.

“I think it’s credible testimony that his drone was hovering from anywhere, for two or three times over these people’s property, that it was an invasion of their privacy and that they had the right to shoot this drone,” Judge Ward said. “And I’m going to dismiss his charge.”

David Boggs is the drone’s owner. He was less than thrilled with the ruling.

“I’m dumbfounded. I really am,” Boggs said. “I don’t think that the court looked at what really took place here.”

Boggs said his drone flew over Merideth’s home at over 200 feet and didn’t hover

“I just want him to do the right thing. His neighbors, he knows, everybody knows that no way was we under 100 and something feet. That never happened,” Boggs said. “And so if they said, then they’re not telling the truth.”

Experts at University of Louisville’s Speed School of Engineering say get ready for more cases like this.

“People are maybe not quite sure of where the boundaries are while they’re waiting for the law to catch up,” Associate Professor of computer engineering and computer science Adrian Lauf said.

Lauf said bad press is pressuring drone manufacturers and the FAA to make the rules clear.

“If we practice more common sense, we probably wouldn’t have as many shotguns shooting drones down, or would we have people who feel threatened,” he said.

Source: WTHR