Former Indonesian Idol contestant arrested for breaking into car and stealing drone

Former Indonesian Idol contestant Dede Richo Ramalinggan. Photo: Twitter
Former Indonesian Idol contestant Dede Richo Ramalinggan. Photo: Twitter

We imagine the Indonesian equivalent of Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson (hey, we stopped watching Idol after the William Hung era, okay?) wouldn’t be impressed by this Indonesian Idol contestant’s fall from grace.

According to the police, 29-year-old Dede Richo Ramalinggan, a finalist in the Indonesian version of the global singing competition’s 2008 season, smashed the window of a parked car to steal a Mavic Pro drone in BSD City, South Tangerang, on Saturday. Police say he was with his brother, 34-year-old Deni Fredla Pchrels, at the time.

Investigators tracked Dede down in Tangerang on Tuesday, where they said they had to shoot him to stop him from running. Police located his brother Deni the next day, and they said they also had to shoot him before his arrest.

“We took stern, measured action because they tried to run during the arrest,” South Tangerang Police Chief Ferdy Irawan told reporters today, as quoted by Kompas.

The police found the stolen drone in one of the suspects’ houses, along with tools they used to break into cars. The suspects have allegedly broken into dozens of cars in Tangerang in the past few months, learning their techniques from their busker friends, because they have been struggling economically.

Both Dede and Deni were charged with theft and may face up to seven years in prison if found guilty.

Here’s Dede in his heyday (thank you, thank you very much) before his plunge into obscurity and a life of crime.






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