ARLINGTON — A Marysville man is in hot water after he allegedly was caught damaging an aircraft he mistakenly believed belonged to billionaire Paul Allen.
The suspect, 30, was arrested after being spotted behind some fencing at the Arlington Municipal Airport shortly after midnight Feb. 2, according to a police report. A witness said he appeared to be tampering with an aircraft.
Arlington police wrote that the man appeared “deranged and unpredictable.” They persuaded him to climb back over the fence, get on his knees and lie on his stomach.
Police noticed him jam his left hand into a coat pocket. Inside the pocket they found sharp shards of broken plastic. Inside another pocket they found a red protective cover for aircraft parts. On the ground they discovered similar objects.
The man told police he was at the airfield to identify aircraft he believed belonged to Allen and that he believed “Allen was in violation of federal law by possessing a military aircraft.”
Police described the aircraft as a Dornier Alpha Jet owned by an aviation training company.
The broken plastic had covered some ejector equipment.
Airport officials estimated the damage to be as much as $30,000.
A mechanic is expected to provide a more precise estimate in the next few weeks.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com
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