A 34-year-old Desert Hot Springs man suspected of attacking a woman was located by a police drone riding through a Vons parking lot, and the drone tracked him as he entered a nearby Burger King; officers took him into custody in the Two Bunch Palms Trail area. Devon Anthony Ducksworth now faces suspicion of kidnapping and felony domestic violence following the Saturday incident.
Police said officers responded to reports of a man assaulting a woman in the 13000 block of La Mesa Drive, according to MyNewsLA.com. A reporting party told authorities that the suspect fled the area on a bicycle and might have been armed with a firearm, prompting a search.
Drone Tracks Suspect From Vons to Burger King
Police utilized a drone to assist with the search, and the aircraft located Ducksworth riding through a Vons parking lot before tracking him as he entered a nearby Burger King. The report notes Ducksworth's booking was confirmed by Lt. Christopher Saucier of the Desert Hot Springs Police Department.
Officers then responded to the Two Bunch Palms Trail area and took Ducksworth into custody. No firearm was located on him, but officers discovered he had outstanding felony warrants during the arrest. Both bail information and the circumstances behind the incident were not immediately available, per the same account.
The department’s drone use rose sharply in its annual records: it logged 435 deployments in 2024, compared with 20 in 2023. The 2024 uses included patrol calls, search warrants and documenting crime scenes, and the city’s report lists a drone purchase that year costing $13,583.50. The figures place Saturday’s search within a broader expansion of the department’s use of the technology, beyond locating fleeing suspects. The city’s 2024 annual equipment report details the deployments and purchase.
Not the Department's First Drone-Assisted Arrest
This is not the first time Desert Hot Springs police have leaned on drone technology to run down a fleeing suspect. In 2025, the department used a drone to follow a suspect who fled a traffic stop on a mini bike, weaving through traffic and ignoring stop signs, according to a separate report from KESQ. Officers later caught up with the suspect at his home.
In another case the same year, KESQ reported that police used a drone to locate a suspect hiding in trash and debris, who was reportedly a wanted felon and was booked into jail. Desert Hot Springs Police Chief Steven Shaw has said the technology gives officers an edge before they even arrive on scene, telling the station, “Having the drone overhead, giving real time information.”
Case Remains Early in Process
California’s AB 481 puts police drones under a public oversight process: Desert Hot Springs City Council approved the department’s equipment policy in April 2022, and the law requires annual reports covering equipment use, complaints, audits, costs and inventory. The department must also hold a public engagement meeting within 30 days of releasing its report so residents can ask about funding, acquisition and use. The city’s report and policy describe those requirements.
No additional details about what led to Saturday's confrontation on La Mesa Drive have been released, and police have not disclosed the woman's condition or identity. Bail information for Ducksworth was not immediately available.
