Michael Santos Will Need New Tricks to Impress Next Girlfriend

A man who tried to impress his girlfriend one year ago by taking her for a joyride in a stolen twin-engine plane has been sentenced to four years in prison.

As ANN reported, Santos told police he was drunk when he took his girlfriend to the La Porte (IN) Municipal Airport on September 9, 2007, to show her he knew how to fly a plane. The couple broke into the aircraft, managed to start the engines and began taxiing for departure.

A half-mile later, Santos couldn't negotiate a turn to the runway... and ran the Beech King Air off into a soybean field, where its nosewheel sank in soft dirt. The arrest was made a few weeks later, when a tipster told police he'd heard Santos bragging about the exploit.

The Associated Press reports he confessed, but told the court his first child is due this year. "I need to start providing for my family now. I beg for leniency on this," Santos said.

Defense attorney Don Pagos asked the court to sentence Santos to a work-release program... but LaPorte Circuit Judge Tom Alevizos agreed with County Deputy Prosecutor Jennifer Evans that a stiffer penalty was called for.

Alevizos imposed a four-year prison sentence Friday, after reviewing the defendant's record. Santos has more than a dozen prior convictions... some for drunken driving... and has lost his drivers license for life.

Santos confessed to charges of theft and criminal mischief. Police add that he drove to the airport, despite the lifetime revocation of his drivers license.

FMI: www.alco.org/govt/LP_Air/lpairport.html