LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A man says a mysterious object peeking into his windows was a drone casing his house.
The strange sight appeared in the early morning hours last Tuesday near Hollywood Boulevard and Stewart Avenue.
"This is my home I share with Jarrett Parker. We're a magic act here in town," said Raja Rahman, one half of the magic duo Jarrett and Raja. They've wowed audiences on the Las Vegas Strip and on national television on ABC's "Shark Tank."
Raja knew something was wrong when his large dogs started barking loudly in the dead of night. At the same time, he received alert emails from his security system.
"My camera does record pictures, not video, so it sends me an email," Raja explained.
He believes that the pets heard the distinct sound of a drone buzzing, and he has a theory.
"It's Las Vegas, and it seems like when they're casing houses now, are they using drones? And are they using drones to case the house?" Raja said.
"I had to look a few times to see exactly what it was, but after looking at the emails and the picture, it was unmistakably a drone," Raja told Action News.
Drone casing by crooks has been reported in other cities. Raja called Las Vegas police and is filing a report.
He maintains that this object flying right up into his entryway was no accident.
"It's got to be deliberate. It's intentional," he said.
For now, Raja is adding security lights and hoping that others are aware that burglars may be using technology to surveil your home before they break in.
"I think it's important for the public to know that this is now a potential scoping device. I don't know what measures you can take to protect yourself of the certain privacy invasion, but it's the new reality," he said.
Action News has reported on neighborhood concerns about drones invading privacy in a southwest Las Vegas community. In Nevada, drone pilots can be charged with trespassing if they fly over someone's house more than once and if they've been told to stop.
