Young Suspect Has Multi, Instrument Ratings
A 22-year-old commercial pilot with multi and instrument endorsements and a C/IA-Jet type rating (according to the FAA’s airmen database) has been accused of taking five passengers on a “joy ride” from St. Augustine, Fla. to Briscoe Field in Gwinnett, Ga. in a $7 million Citation VII. The man, from Buford, Ga., is facing felony theft by receiving charges and five misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct. More federal charges are expected. Gwinnett police spokesman Darren Moloney said Wolcott wasn’t qualified to fly the plane “but apparently is a talented and gifted pilot.” The plane, reportedly owned by Pinnacle Air, of Springdale, Ark., (it’s registered to a Carrollton, Texas corporation) was reported stolen from St. Augustine on Saturday by the crew that flew it there and left it unlocked on the ramp. Sometime between late Saturday and early Sunday Wolcott is alleged to have taken off from St. Augustine and brought the Citation in for a night landing at Briscoe before taxiing to the ramp and parking it.
