Florida man arrested in cockpit of Coast Guard plane after crashing through airport fence

CLEARWATER, Fla. — A Florida man was arrested Saturday after he stole a car, crashed through an airport fence and then boarded a Coast Guard C-130 aircraft, investigators said.

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The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said Herrera Hamilton Moreno crashed through the fence at the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Airport around 4:48 a.m., WTSP reported.

Deputies said they noticed a suspicious vehicle driving in an area where commercial aircraft were parked and attempted to stop the driver. The driver continued to an area where there is a U.S. Coast Guard Station.

The pursuit ended after Moreno, 36, crashed into a large hangar and started running. He was in the cockpit of a C-130 aircraft when deputies took him into custody.

Moreno was arrested and charged with fleeing and eluding, trespassing, grand theft auto, being a habitual traffic offender, burglary and two counts of criminal mischief, according to the sheriff’s office. Federal charges are pending.

Investigators determined Moreno first drove through a fence surrounding the airport in a vehicle that was reported stolen out of Tampa earlier in the day.

There were no injuries. No aircraft were damaged.

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