Canadian with cocaine on plane pleads guilty
One of two Canadians aboard a plane that made an emergency landing at Ohio University’s airport in March with more than 290 pounds of cocaine aboard pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal drug charge.
The plea agreement on behalf of David Ayotte, 45, was filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus. The charge is possession with the intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine, which carries a possible sentence of 10 years to life in prison and a fine of up to $10 million.
Ayotte was aboard the plane on March 29 with Sylvain Desjardins, 47, the pilot, on a trip from Grand Bahama Island to Windsor, Ontario. The two men are from Mirabel, a suburb of Montreal.
The turboprop plane experienced mechanical problems and the pair made an emergency landing at OU’s Gordon K. Bush Airport near Athens. That’s where they were intercepted by Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents along with campus and local law enforcement.
Under the agreement, Ayotte admits to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, court records show. He will appear in U.S. District Court to formally enter his plea and be sentenced, said Michael Hunter, an assistant U.S. attorney. Ayotte is being held in the Delaware County Jail.
The plea agreement does not say whether Ayotte will testify against his co-defendant, Desjardins, 47, who is also being held on a charge of possession with the intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine. Desjardins has been convicted in Canada of trafficking in heroin and marijuana.