ST. LOUIS — A Canadian man has pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing a plane in Canada and flying over three U.S. states before landing along a dark southern Missouri highway.
Adam Dylan Leon pleaded guilty today in St. Louis to federal charges of interstate transportation of a stolen aircraft, importation of a stolen aircraft and illegal entry.
The 31-year-old formerly known as Yavuz Berke admitted that on April 6, he stole a four-seat Cessna 172 from his Thunder Bay, Ont., flight school and crossed the U.S. border.
It landed more than seven hours later near a southern Missouri highway.
He faces a maximum of 20 years and six months in prison at his Nov. 3 sentencing. U.S. reports describe him as a Turkish-Canadian.
Leon’s attorney, federal public defender Lucille Liggett, did not return a phone call seeking comment.