Man pleads guilty to flying drone that struck fire-fighting plane during Palisades fire
Jan. 31 (UPI) -- A California man has agreed to plead guilty to recklessly operating a drone that crashed into and damaged a "Super Scooper" firefighting aircraft during the deadly Palisades fire near Los Angeles, prosecutors announced Friday.
Peter Tripp Akemann, 56, of Culver City, Calif., was set to plead guilty to one misdemeanor count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft carrying a sentence of up to one year in federal prison during an appearance Friday in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles, according to the Justice Department.
Akemann is accused of launching his drone from the top floor of a Santa Monica, Calif., parking garage on Jan. 9 and sending it toward the raging wildfire in neighboring Pacific Palisades, where it collided with a Canadian government-owned CL-415 super scooper aircraft carrying two crew members who were attempting to fight the blaze.
Prosecutors said the impact punched a hole in the aircraft's left wing, forcing firefighters to take it out of service for repairs in the midst of their frantic efforts to contain the massive fire, which killed 12 people and injured at least four others, including one firefighter, while consuming nearly 23,500 acres.
Akemann flew his drone despite temporary flight restrictions imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration in the wildfire area, demonstrating with authorities called a "lack of common sense" and "ignorance of duty."
"This defendant recklessly flew an aircraft into airspace where first responders were risking their lives in an attempt to protect lives and property," said acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally. "This damage caused to the Super Scooper is a stark reminder that flying drones during times of emergency poses an extreme threat to personnel trying to help people and compromises the overall ability of police and fire to conduct operations.
"As this case demonstrates, we will track down drone operators who violate the law and interfere with the critical work of our first responders."
Akemann has agreed to complete 150 hours of community service in support of the 2025 Southern California wildfire relief effort, officials said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
700 Marines deployed to L.A. as Trump, Gov. Newsom clash over response
June 9 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump publicly endorsed the arrest of California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday during a war of words, as the administration authorized the deployment of 700 Marines to Los Angeles to quell anti-ICE immigration protests that turned violent over the weekend. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the deployment to help defend federal agents amid protests over immigration raids. "We have an obligation to defend federal law enforcement officers -- even if Gavin Newsom will not," Hegseth said Monday. "Due to increased threats to federal law enforcement officers and federal buildings, approximately 700 active-duty U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton are being deployed to Los Angeles to restore order," Hegseth added in a post on X. Meanwhile, Trump and Newsom ramped up their rhetoric after the Trump administration called in 2,000 National Guardsmen over the weekend to protect buildings and residents, a move Newsom called inflammatory for the "peaceful" protests as the administration called it "chaos." "While Los Angeles burns -- officers ambushed, city in chaos -- Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom and Maxine Waters call the riots and insurrection 'peaceful,'" The White House wrote Monday in a post on X, showing video of burning cars and protesters closing Highway 101. "They side with mobs. President Trump stands for law and order." In response to a reporter question Monday, Trump was asked whether he supported Newsom's taunt to "border czar" Tom Homan to "come and arrest him." "I would do it if I were Tom," Trump said Monday. "I think it's great. Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing," Trump said, as he called Newsom a "nice guy," but "grossly incompetent." Newsom responded on social media saying, "The president of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America." "I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican this is a line we cannot cross as a nation -- this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism," Newsom wrote in a post on X. By Monday evening, Newsom said he would send 800 more state and local officers to Los Angeles. "Chaos is exactly what Trump wanted, and now California is left to clean up the mess," Newsom wrote in a new post on X. "We're working with local partners to surge over 800 additional state and local law enforcement officers to ensure the safety of our L.A. communities." Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta also announced Monday that they have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its activation of the state's National Guard without getting state and local approval first. "California's governor and I are suing to put a stop to President Trump's unlawful, unprecedented order calling federalized National Guard forces into Los Angeles," Bonta said. "The president is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends. This is an abuse of power -- and not one we take lightly." During Friday's raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, demonstrators flooded the streets and freeways to protest their actions. The fire department said it responded to "multiple vehicle fires" during the unrest. Waymo autonomous electric vehicles were among those targeted, according to Los Angeles Fire Department public information officer Erik Scott. "Due to the design of EV battery systems, it's often difficult to apply the water directly to the burning cells, especially in a chaotic environment, and in some cases, allowing the fire to burn is the safest tactic," Scott said. Over the weekend, demonstrators spilled out onto the 101 freeway that runs through downtown L.A. Approximately 70 people have been arrested after being ordered to leave the downtown area. Some were also seen throwing objects at officers. "I just met with L.A. immigrant rights community leaders as we respond to this chaotic escalation by the administration," L.A. Mayor Karen Bass wrote Monday evening in a post on X. "Let me be absolutely clear -- as a united city, we are demanding the end to these lawless attacks on our communities. Los Angeles will always stand with everyone who calls our city home."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Raleigh County man pleads guilty to COVID-era business loan fraud
beckley – A Raleigh County man is awaiting sentencing in U.S. District Court after entering a guilty plea for theft of government money. United States Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn presided over the hearing on June 2 in which Ross Jay Bailey, 50, of Cool Ridge, pleaded guilty to obtaining a $2 million loan through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act for his business and then converting at least $1.4 million in funds to 'his personal enrichment,' states a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. On or about June 30, 2020, Bailey obtained a $150,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan for his business, R&R Delivery Service Inc. The CARES Act authorized the Small Business Administration to provide EIDL program loans of up to $2 million to eligible small businesses that were experiencing 'financial disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic,' according to court documents and statements made in court 'Bailey successfully applied to increase the loan amount in August 2021 to $500,000 and in February 2022 to the $2 million maximum. Bailey certified that he would use all loans proceeds solely as working capital to alleviate economic injury caused by the pandemic,' states the news release. Court officials said Bailey admitted that he transferred at least $1.4 million of the EIDL proceeds from his business's bank account to his personal bank account from on or about March 1, 2022, through on or about May 31, 2022, as a condition of his guilty please. 'Bailey further admitted that he converted these funds into purchases of stock and cryptocurrency for his personal enrichment,' the release continues. Bailey is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 10 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Bailey also owes at least $1.5 million in restitution, with a final amount to be determined by the Court. Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston commended the investigative work of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Inspector General, the US Secret Service, the West Virginia State Police-Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the West Virginia State Auditor's Office Public Integrity and Fraud Unit. Bailey's brother, Ryan Keith Bailey, 47, of Beaver, pleaded guilty on May 7 to theft of government money. Ryan Keith Bailey obtained $2,166,517.40 in loans through the CARES Act for his business and instead converted nearly all of the proceeds for his personal use. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 12. Mark William Bailey, 52, of Beckley and a cousin of Ross Jay Bailey and Ryan Keith Bailey, pleaded guilty on Sept. 8, 2023, to theft of government money, after he admitted he stole approximately $451,237.51 in SBA loans he obtained through the CARES Act. On October 25, 2024, Mark William Bailey was sentenced to five years of federal probation, including one year on home detention, and paid $451,237.51 in restitution and an additional $451,237.98 as a civil penalty to settle False Claims Act allegations. NASA OIG is an active member of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force, which was created to promote transparency and facilitate oversight of the federal government's COVID-19 pandemic response. The PRAC's 20 member Inspectors General identify risks that cross program and agency boundaries to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the more than $5 trillion in COVID-19 spending, which includes funds awarded via the Paycheck Protection and EIDL programs. This case was also supported by the PRAC's Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence, which applies the latest advances in analytic and forensic technologies to help OIGs and law enforcement pursue data-driven pandemic relief fraud investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes is prosecuting the case. Individuals with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 are encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Convicted double murderer Stephen Stanko asks federal court to block execution days ahead of scheduled death
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WBTW) — Convicted double murderer Stephen Stanko wants a federal judge to pause his scheduled Friday execution over perceived civil rights violations. Stanko's legal team will appear before U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel at 11 a.m. on Wednesday in Charleston. Stanko, 57, has been sentenced to death twice in the state for two separate murders — the killing of a friend and the killing of his girlfriend as he raped her daughter. He's being executed for killing his 74-year-old friend Henry Turner in Conway. Stanko went to Turner's home in April 2006 after lying about his father dying, and shot Turner twice while using a pillow as a silencer, authorities said. Stanko stole Turner's truck, cleaned out his bank account and spent the next few days in Augusta, Georgia, where he told people in town for the Masters golf tournament that he owned several Hooters restaurants. He stayed with a woman who took him to church. She called police once after seeing his photo and learning that he was wanted, police said. Hours before killing Turner, Stanko beat and strangled his girlfriend, Laura Ling, in her home in Murrells Inlet and raped her daughter before slashing the teen's throat. The daughter survived and testified against him at one of his trials. South Carolina restarted executions in September after obtaining pentobarbital used in lethal injections thanks to a new secrecy law. The state didn't execute a prisoner from 2011 to 2024 after its supply of lethal injection drugs expired and pharmacies refused to sell them more unless their identities could be kept secret. Stanko, who set to die June 13, had a choice among firing squad, lethal injection or the electric chair. His lawyers said in previous court filings he didn't want to suffer what he thought was cooking from thousands of volts of electricity. They said he was leaning toward the firing squad before questions surfaced about whether Mikal Mahdi suffered agonizing pain for about 45 seconds — three times longer than expected — at his April 11 execution after the firing squad nearly missed his heart. State law sets the electric chair as a default execution method but lets inmates choose between firing squad or lethal injection if either option is available. Stanko's attorney Charles Grose Jr. said that clause leaves his client in an impossible position. 'The scheme's provision of ostensible choice creates a constitutional Catch 22: One either submits to electrocution with the prayer to the courts to intercede with a stay to permit a constitutional challenge in order to avoid a tortuous killing by atavistic means, or one chooses between the lesser of two inhumane and, in the hands of the defendants, unconstitutional methods that, in the very election of one of the methods, precludes its constitutional challenges,' Grose said in his filing. The Associated Press contributed to this story. * * * Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
