A single-engine aircraft was reported stolen Jan. 3 from Auburn Municipal Airport and was recovered Jan. 6 at Corona Municipal Airport in California.
AUBURN, Wash. — A Pomona, California, man has been arrested and charged after investigators say he operated an unregistered aircraft connected to a stolen plane taken from Auburn Municipal Airport in Washington.
Christian Estoque, 38, was arrested following an investigation by the FBI’s Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force. He is charged in a federal criminal complaint filed Jan. 28 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
According to the complaint, a single-engine aircraft was reported stolen Jan. 3 from Auburn Municipal Airport and was recovered Jan. 6 at Corona Municipal Airport in California. Police said the plane’s transponder had been manipulated to conceal its location during the flight, though it was seen at an airport in Kelso, Washington, on Jan. 4.
Investigators later linked a couple to the Auburn theft and to a second suspected aircraft theft Jan. 27 at Corona Municipal Airport involving a plane that had not been registered since 2017. FBI agents conducting surveillance said they saw Estoque enter that aircraft and power on the engine, and took him into custody, believing he was attempting to steal the plane.
Authorities said Estoque is not a registered pilot and is not listed on the aircraft’s registration. According to the complaint, he admitted to being under the influence of methamphetamine while operating the plane.
Estoque appeared before a federal magistrate Jan. 29 and was released on bond. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.