Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
OGDEN — An Ogden man is facing seven felony charges after he allegedly shot and killed another man over what police say was a dispute about a drone.
Ogden police responded to reports of a gunshot wound near 700 N. Liberty Ave. at about 9:55 p.m. Monday.
A police booking affidavit said Brendon Michael Powell, 25, told police he shot a 31-year-old man multiple times over a dispute about a drone. Police said Powell did not know the person he shot.
A police booking affidavit says Powell told police he heard a commotion coming from a vehicle, so he flew his drone toward the area to "investigate," but his drone hit a tree near the vehicle. Powell went around the residence with a firearm to retrieve the drone.
Police said Powell approached the victim — who was holding the drone — with a flashlight attached to his firearm. The victim started to run away, then turned back to Powell "with one hand on the drone and one hand in his pocket," the affidavit says.
The victim then started moving towards Powell, the document says, and Powell fired seven rounds at him. The victim, identified by his wife as Royer Pena, died at the scene.
Surveillance footage from Powell's house shows Powell flying the drone; the drone is heard hitting a tree, then he "racks the slide of the firearm" before approaching the victim, police said. Powell and the man are heard arguing in the surveillance footage and seven shots can be heard.
Eveline Pena told KSL-TV she kept calling her husband when he did not return home last night. She was notified of his death at about 3:30 a.m. and said he was a great father, protector and provider who stepped up for others.
"What got him in this situation is he was always about respect and he hated people being disrespectful," Eveline Pena said. "He was always like, 'People don't have manners these days.'"
Pena said neighbors knew of Powell because he had been "bugging people" with drones and invading their privacy.
Family members held a vigil for Pena on Tuesday afternoon.
Powell has been charged with murder with a dangerous weapon, a first-degree felony. He also faces six counts of felony discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury, also a first-degree felony. The court declared he constitutes a substantial danger to the community.
Contributing: Andrew Adams
Correction: A previous version incorrectly stated the time of the incident as 11:55 p.m.; it was reported at about 9:55 p.m.
