A San Diego man pleaded responsible Monday to federal expenses associated to twice touchdown his small non-public aircraft on San Clemente Island, a principally barren strip of land about 70 miles west of San Diego that’s managed by the U.S. Navy and beneath the command of Naval Base Coronado.
Andrew Kyle White, 37, pleaded responsible in Los Angeles federal courtroom to a felony rely of theft of presidency property and a misdemeanor rely of unlawful entry right into a naval set up. As a part of his plea, he agreed to surrender and never renew his pilot’s license.
White admitted that he landed his single-engine aircraft on an airstrip on the island with out the Navy’s permission for the primary time in October 2023. Regardless of signing a letter that warned him in opposition to touchdown on the island once more and acknowledging that he could possibly be charged with a federal crime if he did so, he landed on the island a second time in April, in accordance with his plea settlement.
San Clemente Island has an airfield, a bombing vary and a coaching facility utilized by particular operations items. In keeping with the Navy, there are sometimes between 80 and 100 folks on the island.
After the second touchdown, White deserted his aircraft, drove off in a Navy pickup truck, broke via at the very least one locked gate and spent an evening on the island, prompting Naval Base Coronado’s commanding officer to put all personnel on the island on lockdown whereas safety officers looked for him, in accordance with his plea settlement and different courtroom information.
“Mr. White’s unauthorized landing on San Clemente Island put Naval Base Coronado active duty and civil service members at risk while negatively impacting military readiness and costing the (Department of Defense) nearly 500 man-hours and (about) $500,000,” Capt. Loren Jacobi, Naval Base Coronado’s commanding officer, wrote in a sufferer influence assertion to the courtroom.
White’s attorneys stated their shopper acknowledged his wrongdoing, however that it was clear he didn’t go to the island “with nefarious intentions of terrorizing the base or destroying sensitive equipment.”
In a sentencing memorandum, White’s attorneys described him as a lifelong San Diegan and “an intelligent young man who is passionate about everything having to do with the coastal and offshore fisheries he has grown up loving.”
Attorneys Domenic Lombardo and Journey Johnston wrote that White has designed and constructed “custom fishing equipment for the commercial fishing industry,” together with harpoons and communications techniques. They stated his identical curiosity and keenness that led him to attempt to innovate options from the docks and his workshop additionally led him to start flying and turn out to be an aerial fish-spotter.
“One of Mr. White’s favorite places to fly was around the rich fishing grounds that surrounded San Clemente Island,” the attorneys wrote. “In October 2023, Mr. White’s curiosity got the most of him, and he landed his plane on a small airstrip on the island.”
The protection attorneys didn’t clarify for what particular functions White landed on the island, or why he returned once more in April. They wrote that when he was apprehended after spending the night time on a seaside, he informed authorities “that he had come to the island to ‘get away from the noise.’ He also apologized about taking the truck, saying ‘Sorry about the vehicle.’”
Prosecutors and Naval Base Coronado’s commanding officer recounted a way more harrowing ordeal following White’s second touchdown on the night of April 6.
“When defendant landed his plane … Captain Jacobi had no choice but to order a total lockdown,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “He had only five security personnel available to protect the approximately 80 people who were located on the island and did not know the nature of the threat or the level of hostility he faced. When his personnel found an abandoned plane on the island, he had very little information with which to evaluate the threat the Navy was facing; he had no idea who the intruder was, how many intruders there were, whether the intruders were armed, or what their intentions were. He had to assume the worst.”
Due to a thick marine layer, Navy personnel from the mainland have been unable to reach on the island till the following morning. Jacobi informed the courtroom that two safety personnel had to stick with the aircraft in a single day whereas three others searched within the darkness.
“Our personnel were dangerously exposed and ill-prepared to spend a full night on patrol,” Jacobi wrote. “Night tactical movements are always risky, especially for junior security personnel responding to unplanned events. Additionally, the overland search exposed my personnel to multiple historic bombing ranges that have not been swept for unexploded ordnance.”
White, who has been in pretrial custody for about 4 months, is anticipated to be sentenced later this month. Prosecutors stated they might suggest a six-month sentence — that’s anticipated to be the high-end of his guideline vary — whereas White’s attorneys wrote that they plan to hunt his launch with credit score for time served. Prosecutors can even search an order that White pay the Navy $8,077 in restitution for the damaged gate.
