McIntosh Says He Has No Regrets Over Plucking His Sweetheart From Prison

Ronald J. McIntosh, facing 25 years in prison, said Thursday that he has no regrets about breaking his sweetheart out of prison in a helicopter, while his lawyer said he has been deluged by movie offers.

Los Angeles attorney Stephen R. Grohs, representing McIntosh, said it would “certainly be rather exciting” to see his client’s story on the screen, but he said discussions have been preliminary.

Grohs also suggested that McIntosh, 42, had more than love as a motive when he escaped from the federal prison at Pleasanton on Oct. 28, then returned a week later in a helicopter to carry away Samantha Dorinda Lopez, 37.

“He had some real dire reasons for doing it,” Grohs said.

The attorney said Lopez hinted at some of the reasons when she claimed in a telephone call to the Sacramento Bee this week that conditions at the prison included corruption and violation of inmates’ rights--charges denied by the prison warden.

The couple met at Pleasanton, where Lopez was serving a 50-year sentence for bank robbery and McIntosh was serving a three-year sentence stemming from an $18-million investment fraud.

Lopez and McIntosh, who eluded authorities for 10 days before being arrested here Saturday, appeared briefly in federal court Thursday and were ordered returned to San Francisco. McIntosh faces federal charges of air piracy and escape, which carry a total of 25 years in prison, and Lopez faces a charge of escape.

As McIntosh was led from the courthouse Thursday, a reporter asked whether he had any regrets about the escapade, prompting McIntosh to respond, “Not a one.” Asked when he would tell his story, the former Vietnam combat helicopter pilot said, “Very soon.”

“He does want his story told, and so does Dorinda,” Grohs said.