A Brentwood man has been arrested on suspicion of flying a drone over the Vandenberg Space Force Base and taking photos, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Yinpiao Zhou, 39, has been charged with failure to register an aircraft not providing transportation and violation of national defense airspace, the DOJ statement said.
He was arrested Tuesday at San Francisco International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to China. He is expected to appear in court on Wednesday.
An affidavit filed Dec. 8 says that on Nov. 30, the base’s drone detection systems were alerted that a drone was flying over the base.
“The drone systems detected that the drone had been flying for almost an hour, traveling to an altitude of almost a mile above the ground and originating from Ocean Park,” the release said.
The staff spoke with Zhou that day, who was accompanied by another person. They discovered that he had hidden the plane in his jacket at the time.
After obtaining a federal search warrant, agents searched Zhou’s drone and found several photos of the Space Force base taken by the drone.
“A search of Zhou’s cell phone revealed that about a month earlier, Zhou had conducted a Google search for the phrase ‘Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules’ and messaged another person about hacking his drone to making him fly higher than he otherwise could,” the release said. declared.
Zhou is reportedly a Chinese citizen legally resident in the United States, prosecutors said. He last returned to the US from China in February 2024. They also state that the person who was with Zhou at Ocean Park arrived from China on November 26.
If convicted, Zhou faces a maximum prison sentence of four years.
The FBI is assisting with the investigation.
