Homeless Cub Thief Gets Nine Months

0

The homeless man who tried to steal a Super Cub from the Frederick Md., airport in December will have a roof over his head for nine months, courtesy of the penal system. Calvin Cox, 51, who told authorities he’d lived in the woods by the airport for seven years, was handed the nine-month sentence Thursday in a deal that resulted in his pleading guilty to a single count of second-degree burglary. Cox got the Cub started and taxied to the runway but ran it off into the grass where it upended. As part of the plea deal, Cox will have to pay some restitution to the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association, which used the aircraft as a tow plane. The cost of the engine teardown and new prop was about $12,000.

The unusual nature of the theft and the fact that it occurred just down the taxiway from AOPA headquarters and the home of Airport Watch vaulted the incident to prominence. It’s still not clear what previous experience or knowledge enabled Cox to open the locked hangar, start the Cub and get it moving. Court was told Cox’s former wife had obtained a protective order 10 days prior to the theft after complaining that he was harassing her and that he suffers mental illness.

LEAVE A REPLY