A Culver City man pleaded guilty Feb. 12 to recklessly operating a drone during the Palisades Fire last month and crashing it into a Super Scooper firefighting aircraft, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles announced.
Peter Tripp Akemann, 56, agreed at the end of January to plead guilty after federal prosecutors charged him with a misdemeanor. He faces up to one year in prison.
“This defendant recklessly flew an aircraft into airspace where first responders were risking their lives in an attempt to protect lives and property,” said acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally in a statement Jan. 31.
Prosecutors say the wildfire was burning in an around Pacific Palisades on Jan. 9 when Akemann drove to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and parked his vehicle on the top floor of the parking structure. From there, Akemann launched the drone and flew it toward Pacific Palisades to observe the damage….