Full Notification

TITLE:
Suspect Arrested for Stealing Plane at Gunpoint at Compton Airport

DATE: Friday, April 20, 2012

TIME: 7:55 am

LOCATION: Compton/Woodley Airport, Compton

SUSPECT: 25-year old Troy Daniel Long, resident of Bellflower

NARRATIVE:

Deputies from the Compton Sheriff’s Station received a call on Friday at 7:55 AM that a man with a gun was trying to steal an airplane at the Compton/Woodley Airport, in the city of Compton. When deputies arrived they learned that a former airport flight student was trying to steal an airplane at gunpoint.

Suspect Troy Daniel Long, a 25 year old male from the city of Bellflower, allegedly entered the airport office and removed keys for airplanes.

When the employees confronted Long he brandished a handgun and left the office with the keys. He went to the tarmac and entered a Cessna 152 (2 seat, single engine prop) airplane and started the engine.

As the deputies arrived, Long was revving the engine attempting to fly away in the stolen plane. Since the back part of the plane was still secured to the tarmac, he could not take off. The airplane was lurching and bucking against the chain which was holding it in place. Numerous deputies with guns drawn began yelling for Long to turn off the plane’s engine. Finally, Long pulled off his headset, turned off the engine, put his hands in the air, exited the airplane and was taken into custody by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI are jointly investigating this crime. He was booked by FBI agents for suspicion of aircraft piracy and taken to the Federal Metropolitan Detention Center.



Written by:
Lieutenant Hocking

Forwarded By:
Peter Gomez, Deputy
Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau - Newsroom
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
4700 Ramona Blvd., Monterey Park CA 91754
Office: 323-267-4800

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