Trevor Jacob has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for intentionally crashing a small plane in a YouTube publicity stunt.
As Breitbart News reported earlier this year, Jacob confessed to “intentionally crashing his single-engine airplane in a California national forest to gain views for a sponsorship deal, resulting in potentially serious legal trouble.”
“Jacob’s admission came as part of a plea agreement filed in federal court in Los Angeles, where he pleaded guilty to the charge of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation,” it reported at the time.
The offense carried a potential of 20 years in prison. Jacob received only six months. KTLA 5 provided some history of the event:
Prosecutors say Jacob waited two days to report the crash to the National Transportation Safety Board which told him to preserve the wreckage. He stalled the investigation by telling NTSB officials that he didn’t know where the plane went down, according to the DOJ.
More than two weeks after the crash, he and a friend flew a helicopter to the crash site and airlifted the wreckage to Rancho Sisquoc in Santa Barbara County, where it was loaded onto a trailer attached to Jacob’s pickup truck.
The U.S. Department of Justice accused Jacob of cutting up and destroying “the airplane wreckage and, over several days, deposited the detached parts of the wrecked airplane into trash bins at the airport and elsewhere.”
The FAA also revoked Jacob’s pilot’s license.
“It appears that [Jacob] exercised exceptionally poor judgment in committing this offense,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum.
“[Jacob] most likely committed this offense to generate social media and news coverage for himself and to obtain financial gain. Nevertheless, this type of ‘daredevil’ conduct cannot be tolerated.”
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.