HONOLULU – After a two-day bench trial in United States District Court, United States Magistrate Judge Richard L. Puglisi found Travis R. Sanders, age 36, of Hilo, guilty on February 10, 2016, of violating a lawful order of a United States Park Ranger and sentenced him to pay a $1,000 fine. The trial was held in Hilo, on the island of Hawaii.
Florence T. Nakakuni, Untied States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that Sanders was convicted of disobeying a lawful order of a government employee, a Class B misdemeanor, while Sanders was in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the island of Hawaii during the evening of April 25, 2015. According to the evidence presented at trial, Sanders was flying a drone over a crowd gathered to view the Halema’uma’u crater. It is unlawful to fly a drone in a national park. A United States Park Ranger identified himself as a law enforcement officer and ordered Sanders to bring down the drone. Sanders initially refused, then eventually landed the drone. After Sanders refused to identify himself upon request of the Ranger, the Ranger attempted to place Sanders in custody and Sanders fled. The Ranger ordered Sanders to stop, which Sanders refused to do. The Ranger then used his taser to apprehend Sanders and took him into custody.
Magistrate Judge Puglisi found that Sanders heard and understood the Ranger’s order to stop; that the order was lawful; and that Sanders willfully disobeyed the order. Magistrate Judge Puglisi further found that the Ranger’s conduct, including deploying the taser, was "entirely justified." Sanders was not convicted of two other counts related to disobeying the orders to land the drone and to identify himself because he eventually complied with those orders. In addition to having to pay the fine, Sanders is banned from the Park for one year.
The National Park Service conducted the investigation which resulted in the charges in the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Wallenstein handled the prosecution.