SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran who was carrying cocaine aboard a small plane that made an emergency landing on state Route 76 in Oceanside last fall was sentenced Wednesday to two-and-a-half years in prison.
Prosecutors said Oceanside resident Troy Othneil Smith, 36, tried to hide a drug package from police shortly after the plane in which he was riding was forced by mechanical issues to land on the highway just after 1:30 a.m. Sept. 26, 2024.
On prior occasions, Smith also sent out packages of cocaine in the mail, which were seized by the U.S. Postal Service, prosecutors said.
Smith's defense attorney, Ashby Sorensen, wrote in court papers that his client took part in the offenses because he "was struggling with significant debt."
Sorenson noted his client had no prior criminal history, pleaded guilty early in the case and led a distinguished military career. Smith rose to the rank of captain before being honorably discharged in 2011, and was awarded two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals -- the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from former President Joe Biden -- according to the defense attorney.
Smith told U.S. District Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro that he was "very focused on getting back on the right side of things" by pursuing his education and giving back to the community.
"I do not take what I've done lightly," he said. "I regret every single minute of that episode of my life."
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the plane took off from San Diego on the morning of Sept. 25, flew to Mesa, Arizona, and was heading back to California the next day.
After the plane landed on state Route 76, near Canyon Drive, Smith and another pilot departed the plane.
Police officers responded to the scene, one of whom saw Smith unzip a backpack he was wearing and toss a package into the bushes near a guardrail on the highway, prosecutors said.
The contents of the one kilogram package tested positive for cocaine, the U.S. Attorney's Office said, and Smith was arrested.
A prosecution sentencing memorandum states Smith was a student pilot at the time, but based on handwritten notes discovered at his home that detailed apparent flight plans, he "had his sights set next on piloting his own plane for drug distribution cross country."
The other pilot was arrested, but was not ultimately charged. A federal prosecutor said at Smith's sentencing hearing that the other man was not involved in the drug distribution, but nonetheless had his piloting career disrupted by the event and had to spend nearly a year regaining his pilot's license.
Copyright 2025, City News Service, Inc.
Previous Reporting: Plane carrying cocaine that made emergency landing ran out of fuel, owner says
