Green pools are summer’s worst enemy, but in the case of a few local pools, authorities have chalked some spontaneous color-changing water up to “monkey business.”
The mysterious green pool reports began flooding the phone lines at the Galloway Police Station in August, though Absecon Quality Inn General Manager Sandra Woolstion says she has drained her pool twelve times since June due to the unknown green substance and is relieved to finally know that the source of the chaos is being held accountable.
The alleged culprit, Patrick Spina, was caught green-handed on September 1st and arrested on location. Spina, who had been using a drone to drop a substance to turn local pools “an alarming shade of green,” is facing multiple counts of criminal mischief pending court proceedings.
The Quality Inn wasn’t the only victim of Spina’s antics. On August 13th, the Absecon Police Department received a call from a concerned homeowner reporting suspicious drone activity above their property. The caller reported a mysterious substance being dropped into their pool that officials would later identify as Sea Dye, a material commonly used by sea rescue services.
When the Quality Inn owner returned from an errand on the morning of September 1st, she noted that the pool was as clean as she had left it. Woolstion reports that before she was able to retrieve the items from her trunk, she noticed the pool changing the recognizable shade of green she had battled with all summer. She rushed to her security cameras to find that not only had the street been quiet with no cars driving by during those few minutes but nobody had been in the pool area at all. She reported the incident to local authorities, stating, “I think this is someone with a drone.”
The Absecon Police Department, in partnership with the FAA, New Jersey State Police, Galloway Township Police, and Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, was able to move swiftly to follow the drone back to Comfort Solutions Heating and Cooling, where they apprehended Spina at his place of business.
“When detective Jason called me to tell me he was arrested, I was able to sleep like a burden came off me,” shared Woolstion about Spina’s Labor Day Weekend arrest. “I’m looking forward to restitution for all the money we spent and lost over the summer.”
Residents and business owners are encouraged to report any incidents to local authorities.
