Canadian plane thief sentenced to two years in U.S. prison

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — A Canadian man who stole a plane from his flying school in Thunder Bay, Ont., in April and flew it across three American states has been sentenced in Missouri to 24 months in a federal prison.

Adam Dylan Leon, a Turkish-Canadian citizen, stole a Cessna 172 training aircraft, took off without permission and failed to make any radio contact with authorities in the U.S.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection plane and two Wisconsin Air National Guard F-16 jet fighters chased Leon after he crossed the U.S. border.

He landed near Highway 60 in Ellsinore, Mo., and was apprehended by a Missouri Highway patrol.

In court, Leon told U.S. District Judge Charles Shaw he had depression and had hoped his plane would be shot down.

Leon, 31, pleaded guilty to charges of interstate transportation of a stolen aircraft, importation of a stolen aircraft and illegal entry into the United States.