Texas Pilot Pleads Guilty To Hauling Drugs
AUSTIN (AP) — Prosecutors say a Texas pilot whose suspicious flight pattern from Oregon to Arizona drew law enforcement scrutiny has pleaded guilty to smuggling more than 200 pounds of marijuana.
Wayne Douglas Brunet pleaded guilty Wednesday in Austin to possession with intent to distribute marijuana. The 64-year-old Austin man faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Brunet was arrested in March after a late-night landing at Llano Municipal Airport, about 70 miles northwest of Austin.
Officials didn't immediately provide more details about the flight pattern that prompted them to track Brunet's single-engine plane from Medford, Oregon, then to Holbrook, Arizona, to refuel.
Officials say Brunet briefly landed or tried to land at two small Texas airports, but officers were waiting so he flew on to Llano.