William Merideth of Hillview, Kentucky faces charges in the first degree of criminal mischief and wanton endangerment for shooting down a nuisance drone (archived) which was loitering within the bounds of his yard's privacy fence. His neighbors had complained to Merideth about the drone before it breeched the boundaries of Merideth's yard. Neighbor's complaints allowed Merideth the time to retrieve a shotgun which he used to responsibly ground the drone consciously avoiding discharge of his weapon over roads and neighboring properties.

Merideth was later confronted by four men and his responsible and legal open carry of a handgun discouraged the men from violently encroaching upon his property. When police arrived they chose to arrest Merideth for the two state level felony charges instead of issuing a municipal citation for discharging a firearm within municipal boundaries. For each charge Merideth faces a potential one to five years in prison and a fine of up to ten thousand United States dollars.

Police returned the nuisance remote controlled surveillance aircraft to its operators without examining any of the data on board the drone. It's operators claimed to have been photographing a "friend's" home. Merideth plans to pursue the nuisance's operators in court.