Stole Navy Truck, Damaged Gates on San Clemente Island

Andrew Kyle White of San Diego, age 37, pled guilty to federal criminal charges after admitting he twice illegally landed a small aircraft on the U.S. Naval Auxiliary Landing Field San Clemente Island. The second time he landed there he stole a Navy truck and used it to damage gates on the island, causing thousands of dollars in damages.

White pled guilty to one felony count of theft of government property exceeding $1,000 and one misdemeanor count of illegal entry into a naval installation. He has been in custody since he violated the terms of bis bond by cutting off his ankle bracelet earlier this year.

White flew a Glastar to San Clemente and landed on the Auxiliary Landing Field without permission on October 9, 2023. After being apprehended, White received and signed a letter notifying him it was a federal crime to travel to the island without the Navy’s permission and instructed him not to return.

However, White flew the Glastar to the island again on April 6, 2025 and again landed without permission. This time, he stole a white Ford F-150 pickup truck worth approximately $16,000 and was property of the U.S. Navy.

He drove the truck around the island and tried to gain access to areas blocked by locked gates. He used the truck to damage the gates, causing approximately $8,077 in damages and costs to have the truck towed.

Navy officials estimated that White’s intrusions on the base cost nearly 500 man-hours and resulted in a total cost of about $500,000 to American taxpayers.

In court documents, prosecutors argued, “Whatever [White’s] intentions were, the military did not know them; they responded as one might expect the military to respond to an unknown threat: they assumed the worst. The island went on a complete lockdown. Personnel engaged in a highly dangerous mission to locate the unknown intruder(s) notwithstanding the dangers they were exposing themselves too, from the weather, the terrain, and the potential unexploded ordnances that could have been underfoot in that area.”

San Clemente is part of the Naval Base Coronado. White’s plea agreement acknowledged that he knew it was illegal to travel to or access the island without permission. He will be sentenced in a hearing before U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II on September 29. He faces a potential maximum of 10 years in federal prison for theft of government property and up to six months for the illegal entries.

FMI:  www.justice.gov/