Man tried to steal multimillion dollar plane in Ocala, police say

OCALA — A man tried to steal a $2.5 million plane from Ocala International Airport Wednesday, according to the Ocala Police Department.

Police said officers responded to a hangar belonging to Landmark Aviation after a worker said he found a man in the hangar.

Police said the man, Juan Pablo Ceron, 23, who initially gave them a false name, said he was getting ready to fly to Chicago. They said Ceron is not the registered owner of the plane and had no connection to the company that owned the plane.

According to police, the airport worker told them he noticed the plane, a Pilatus PC-12, had been tampered with.

Police said they found about $200-$300 in damage had been done to the plane. They said the oxygen masks were pulled down, life vests inflated and it appeared the plane was in the process of being started.

Police said Ceron was arrested and charged with two counts of burglary, attempted grand theft, giving a false name to law enforcement and criminal mischief.

Ceron was booked into the Marion County Jail on a $51,000 bond.

WFTV