Plane’s Forced Landing Leads to Drug Arrest

A Fullerton man and a Mexican national were arrested in Newbury Park after making an emergency landing in a plane--reportedly stolen--carrying 500 pounds of marijuana, authorities said Sunday.

Ventura County sheriff’s investigators, aided by federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents and customs officials, seized the marijuana, valued at $750,000, and two grams of heroin valued at $700, according to Sgt. Craig Husband of the Sheriff’s Department.

Christopher Shelby, 34, of Fullerton, and Mario Fernandez, 38, of Sonora, Mexico, are being held without bail in Ventura County Jail pending arraignment by a federal magistrate, Husband said.

The two were flying over Newbury Park about 11 p.m. Saturday when the single-engine Cessna developed engine trouble, Husband said, and made an emergency landing in an open field on Potrero Road.

Conflicting Reports

Husband said the two men gave conflicting reports to deputies about why they made the landing. The deputies became suspicious when they noticed “crudely packaged boxes” in the aircraft, Husband said.

A check of the aircraft determined that it had been reported stolen in Torrance, Husband said. Sheriff’s narcotics investigators then obtained a search warrant.

Shelby was booked for suspected possession of stolen property, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of heroin. Fernandez was booked for suspected possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Husband said the plane’s destination was not known.