Springfield Township police using drones to help catch thieves Police in Springfield Township say they're catching more suspects than ever with the help of drones. Chief Chris Niehaus said his officers were making about three arrests each year connected to car break-ins and thefts from cars. He says with the drones, in the past year alone they've made more than 20 arrests, including two this week. Now, the department is sharing brand new footage from a previous arrest leading to federal gun charges. Officer William Yeager is one of the department's drone pilots. In November of last year, Yeager's drone skills helped catch a felon who police said had a gun stolen from a car in Springfield Township. "These apprehensions are apprehensions that we wouldn't have had without this drone program. Guys that more than likely would have gotten away," Yeager said. Naim Warren was named as one of nine people indicted for federal gun charges, part of a major effort to catch repeat offenders in Greater Cincinnati. "What we've learned very quickly with the drone program is really leveraging technology, how much quicker we can respond," Niehaus said. Overnight Monday, police say a man identified as Bret Kersey was spotted stealing catalytic converters from cars in Woodlawn, before leading police on a high-speed chase that ended in Springfield Township with a crash. "I was actually the pursuing officer when he crashed, so I was able to get right out, put the drone right up," Yeager said. Kersey took off but didn't get far. "I was watching him walk into backyards, and you could see that he could see our officers, but they couldn't see him due to the darkness," Yeager said. "We were able to see him actually go into a home and break into that home." Arrest reports