Michael S. Wagner, 27, of Hutchinson has pleaded guilty in federal court to burglaries at airports in Emporia, Colorado, Texas and Oklahoma, according to information from Jim Cross, public information officer for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Kansas.
He pleaded guilty to four counts of interstate transportation of stolen property, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud.
Wagner was indicted in December 2007 and accused of taking laptop computers, hard drives, aviation headsets, cameras, ground positioning system receivers, rifles and pistols, radios and televisions and tools, according to Gazette records.
Wagner was accused of burglarizing the Emporia Municipal Airport on Jan. 22, 2006. Lyon County Sheriff’s deputies discovered a fence at the airport had been cut and found Wagner in a vehicle nearby.
A search warrant executed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation the following day found a variety of stolen items. Further investigation by sheriff’s officers and the FBI showed that some of the stolen merchandise had been sold on eBay.
Wagner admitted to burglarizing airports in Denver; McKinney, Texas; Ponca City and Tulsa, Okla.; and Winfield.
His sentencing is scheduled for May 29. He faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count of interstate transportation of stolen property; a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count of wire fraud; and a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count of mail fraud, Cross said.
Another man charged in the case, Chauncey L. Gaylor, 27, of Wichita, is awaiting trial.