A San Diego man has pleaded guilty to federal charges after illegally landing a small airplane twice on San Clemente Island, stealing a Navy truck, and damaging government property, federal prosecutors announced.
Andrew Kyle White, 37, entered the plea in Los Angeles on Monday, admitting to one felony count of theft of government property in excess of $1,000 and one misdemeanor count of illegal entry into a naval installation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
San Clemente Island, part of Naval Base Coronado, is owned and operated by the U.S. Navy and requires special authorization to access. Court documents state that White was previously warned of this in 2023, when he first flew a Glastar airplane to the island and landed on a Navy airstrip without permission. At that time, officials gave him written notice that unauthorized entry onto the island was a federal crime and instructed him not to return.
Despite the warning, prosecutors said White returned on April 6, 2025, again landing on the island without permission. During this second intrusion, White stole a white Ford F-150 truck valued at approximately $16,000, drove it to multiple restricted locations, and used it to ram locked gates. The damage, along with the cost of towing the vehicle, totaled more than $8,000.
The breach triggered a large-scale military response. In court filings, prosecutors said Navy personnel treated the incident as a potential security threat and placed the island on lockdown. The operation to locate White consumed nearly 500 man-hours and cost taxpayers an estimated $500,000.
“Whatever [White’s] intentions were, the military did not know them; they responded as one might expect the military to respond to an unknown threat: they assumed the worst,” prosecutors wrote. “Personnel engaged in a highly dangerous mission to locate the unknown intruder(s) notwithstanding the dangers they were exposing themselves to, from the weather, the terrain, and the potential unexploded ordnances that could have been underfoot in that area.”
White has remained in federal custody after violating the terms of his bond earlier this year by cutting off his ankle monitor. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 29 before U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II.
He faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for theft of government property and up to six months for illegally entering a naval installation.