A 39-year-old man is expected to plead guilty next week in downtown Los Angeles to a federal charge for allegedly flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base and photographing the military complex.
Yinpiao Zhou of Contra Costa County has agreed to enter a plea to one count of violating the national defense airspace, according to his plea agreement filed Monday in L.A. federal court.
Zhou was arrested Dec. 9 at San Francisco International Airport prior to boarding a China-bound flight.
According to an affidavit, drone detection systems at Vandenberg in Santa Barbara County detected a drone on Nov. 30, 2024, flying over the base. The systems detected that the drone flew for nearly an hour, traveled to an altitude of almost one mile above ground level, and originated from Ocean Park, a public area next to the base, the affidavit states.
Base security personnel went to the park, spoke to Zhou and another person accompanying him, and learned that Zhou had a drone concealed in his jacket — the same one that flew over the base, officials said.
Federal prosecutors say agents later searched Zhou’s drone pursuant to a search warrant and saw several photographs of Vandenberg taken from an aerial viewpoint. A search of Zhou’s phone showed that Zhou allegedly conducted a search for the phrase “Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules” and messaged another person about hacking his drone to allow it to fly higher than it could otherwise, court papers show.
Zhou is a Chinese citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States, most recently returning to the U.S. from China in February 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Once he enters his guilty plea on March 10, Zhou would face a possible sentence of up to one year imprisonment, a year-long period of supervised release, and a fine of $100,000, court papers show.