Baltimore Ravens rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers is reportedly under investigation by Baltimore County police and out-of-state law enforcement for an alleged domestic assault in January, according to The Baltimore Banner. He has not been charged with a crime.
Due to confidentiality rules and laws regarding communications between potential domestic violence victims and police being kept secret, police in Acton, Massachusetts — which apparently took a report on the incident involving Flowers — declined to share any reports with media. Flowers played college football at Boston College, about an hour away from Acton.
The Baltimore County police also declined to release details due to the pending matter, but acknowledged the department had been made aware of the alleged domestic assault.
The alleged assault apparently took place around the area of Owings Mills, Maryland, on Jan. 21.
The Ravens and Flowers and his representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment, according to The Banner.
Flowers played in the AFC Championship game for the Ravens on Jan. 28, a week after the reported alleged assault.
A Pennsylvania man is facing serious charges for flying a drone over the AFC Championship game
A Pennsylvania man is facing some serious criminal charges after flying a drone over M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore during the AFC Championship game between the Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs, federal prosecutor’s announced on Monday. The game was briefly paused in the first half while the drone was over the stadium.
Matthew Hebert has been charged with a number of federal felonies for illegal flying his drone over the stadium on Jan. 28, per a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office representing the District of Maryland. Because the governance of U.S. airspace falls to the Federal Aviation Administration, crimes involving aerial vehicles such as drones — referred to as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) — are risible to the federal level.
Hebert is also under scrutiny for operating his drone with proper certification. If convicted on these charges, he is facing up to four years in prison.
“Illegally operating drones poses a significant security risk that will lead to federal charges,” U.S. attorney Erek Barron said in the release. “Temporary flight restrictions are always in place during large sporting events.”
On the Sunday of the AFC Championship game, a temporary flight restriction (TFR) was placed around M&T Bank Stadium, as is common around many large sporting events around the country. They begin an hour before the event is scheduled to begin and usually end an hour after it has concluded. It creates a radius of three nautical miles around the stadium that aircraft are not supposed to enter.
Hebert’s drone flew over the stadium in the first half and was deemed a big enough security risk to cause an administrative timeout. State and federal law enforcement then followed the drone to where it landed, at which point they found Hebert, who spoke to authorities.
According to the release, Hebert was up front about what he had done. He was unaware that he was not allowed to fly his drone over the stadium, apparently.
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