If you live in the Absecon, New Jersey area and have a pool, hey, good for you. Must be nice. But if you live in the Absecon, New Jersey area, have a pool, and have had it recently turn green, you might be the victim of one of the strangest crimes in recent memory.


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In June, Sandra Woolstion, general manager of the Quality Inn in Galloway Township, noticed that the hotel’s pool had turned green. While she knew it wasn’t algae and spotted a dye pack at the bottom of the pool, she didn’t know what else could have been done to stop this from happening. So, she had the pool drained, cleaned and refilled with water.



Then, it happened again. And again. And again. According to 6ABC, the Quality Inn’s pool became Nickelodeon slime about a dozen times before Woolstion or anyone else could figure out what on earth was going on.


Eventually, a drone was caught in the act of these drive-by dyeings, and the FAA was informed. Working with the New Jersey State Police, Galloway Township Police and the Absecon Police, they were eventually able to identify and arrest the man allegedly behind these attacks — 45-year-old Patrick Spina IV, owner of Comfort Solutions Heating and Cooling.



According to authorities, Spina had been piloting a drone over pools, dropping a package of sea dye (typically used by search and rescue teams), letting the water turn green, then flying the drone away before he could be caught. Why did he do it? Who knows. Spina hasn’t given a statement to anyone about his motivations for the crimes, though his lawyer has said that he’s cooperating with authorities. Maybe the man just hates pools.



No matter why he gave local swimming holes a Saint Patrick’s Day makeover, the FAA was sure to note in a statement: “FAA regulations prohibit the unsafe or unauthorized operation of any aircraft. We encourage the public to report unauthorized drone operations to local law enforcement to help discourage this dangerous illegal activity.” They also said he could face fines of over $30,000 and may have his drone certification suspended or revoked.


Similarly, they’re asking for any other potential victims to come forward. So if you’ve recently had a pool turn green, call the police — and get a slingshot ready to ward off any future drone attacks.