Canonsburg man accused of using drone to stalk teenage girls
Canonsburg police arrested a borough man Tuesday after he was accused of using a drone to stalk teenage girls.
Michael Francis Brackman, 44, faces a dozen misdemeanor charges of stalking and possession of an instrument of crime, and additional summary offenses of harassment and unlawful use of a manned aircraft.
Charging documents accuse Brackman, who lives in the 500 block of Franklin Avenue, of using the drone to follow a 13-year-old female neighbor dating back to April 2023.
“We got a couple general calls here and there, nothing that led us to believe was significant enough to say stalking and harassing was occurring,” said Canonsburg Chief of Police Alex Coghill. “It was occurring, but it wasn’t being reported on a daily basis. I received a call from one of the neighbors who was very alarmed. From there, we identified other victims. An alarming picture started to come together.”
According to the criminal complaint, police began getting multiple complaints about Brackman last month. Police interviewed the mother of the 13-year-old girl, who claimed that on May 15, 2023, Brackman’s drone hovered above her and her daughter in her backyard. She said her boyfriend pointed an unloaded handgun at the drone, and then it left.
Shortly after, a letter was posted to their door stating it was a crime to point a gun at a drone. The woman told police the message dissuaded her from reporting the incident.
According to the complaint, she decided to report what happened after hearing about other potential victims.
The 13-year-old told investigators that beginning last year Brackman’s drone began following her just about anytime she went outside, whether she was jumping on her trampoline or going to the park with friends. She estimated that the drone followed her at least 80 to 90 times.
According to the complaint, when Brackman would encounter the girl in person, he said things that made her uncomfortable, including, “How was your run, beautiful?”
Coghill said the family ended up moving as a result of the repeated harassment.
According to online court records, Pittsburgh attorney Bruce Carsia is representing Brackman. Carsia did not respond to a phone call seeking comment before Wednesday’s deadline.
Through their investigation Canonsburg police learned of five additional cases involving juveniles. Court records accuse Brackman of using his drone to take a picture of a group of children playing with chalk in an alleyway, and then hanging the picture at various spots around the neighborhood. Brackman allegedly admitted the incident in an interview with police.
In another incident, three juveniles said that a driver of a black SUV dropped a handwritten note near them in the 500 block of Giffin Avenue. The note read, “Either girls I think your hot” and “Hope to take you out on a date you both should come,” according to court documents.
The parents of another youth found a handwritten note in front of their home that contained a sexually explicit message directed toward their child. The note included a phone number, which police determined belongs to Brackman.
According to the complaint, the incidents have been a cause of fear and concern for the children and their parents.
“Multiple juveniles changed their lifestyles and refused to play outside as often as usual. They reported they would run house to house in (an) effort to avoid being seen by the drone,” police wrote in the complaint.
Coghill said the drone is the basis of Brackman’s multiple misdemeanor charges of possession of an instrument of crime.
“While the drone laws themself are relatively simple and vague, it’s when you use that drone to accomplish other purposes,” Coghill said. “That’s when it becomes alarming.”
Coghill noted that drone operators are either hobbyists or commercial fliers, and that the allegations against Brackman are not something the department has seen before.
“This is the only report we have ever gotten where it was used to accomplish stalking,” Coghill said.
Brackman was arraigned Tuesday before District Judge James Saieva, who sent him to the Washington County jail on $10,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. July 2.