Admit To Possession And Intent To Distribute

A pair of California men who were caught with 200 pounds of marijuana and other drugs in their airplane when they made a refueling stop have pleaded guilty in Federal court in Texas to one count each of possession with intent to distribute the drugs.

The men, identified as 48-year-old Michael Paul Gallanter (pictured left) and 31-year-old Ethan Oliver Wynne-Wade (right) were indicted May 15th on a variety of charges.

The two were reportedly flying from northern California to Atlanta on April 17 in a Piper PA28 rented by Gallanter when they stopped to refuel at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (KLBB). Local authorities found the pot, along with eight pounds of hashish and three pounds of psychedelic mushrooms on the airplane, according to television station KCBD. Some of the drugs were in a hidden compartment in the back of the plane.

The station reports that Gallanter said during questioning with federal authorities that he had met someone in a coffee shop in California who had asked him to fly something to Atlanta, but he did not know what was in the duffle bags he loaded onto the plane. He said the two had not discussed payment for the delivery.

Both Gallanter and Wynne-Wade face prison sentences of 20 years and a $1 million fine ... each.

(Images provided by the Lubbock County Detention Center)

www.txnd.uscourts.gov