Federal prosecutors are accusing a Pomona man of operating an unregistered aircraft, officials announced Friday.
Christian Estoque, 38, is not a registered pilot and is not listed on the registration for the plane he is alleged to have flown, according to the FBI.
Estoque, according to a criminal complaint, admitted to being under the influence of methamphetamine when operating the plane.
The complaint filed in L.A. federal court says a single-engine aircraft was reported stolen by the owner on Jan. 3 at the Auburn Municipal airport in Washington state and recovered three days later at the Corona Municipal Airport, in Riverside County.
The Corona Police determined that the transponder had been manipulated during the flight in order to conceal where the plane had been over the three-day period. However, the airplane had been spotted at a third airport in Kelso, Washington, on Jan. 4, where a couple driving a rented vehicle was suspected of having flown in the plane, federal prosecutors said.
The couple was allegedly linked to a second suspected aircraft theft on Tuesday at the Corona Municipal Airport of a plane which had not been registered for nine years, officials said.
FBI agents conducting surveillance allegedly witnessed Estoque enter that aircraft and power on the plane’s engine. Agents concluded Estoque was in the process of stealing the plane and took him into custody.
Estoque had an initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge Thursday in downtown Los Angeles and was released on bond.