A man accused of taking a small plane from a Peninsula airport and then ditching it on a Half Moon Bay beach was arraigned Tuesday on a felony charge of theft of an airplane.
Luiz Gustavo Aires, 50, pleaded not guilty to the charge Tuesday during a hearing that took an unexpected twist when Aires asked to represent himself. A judge denied the request, ruling that Aires wasn’t qualified to act as his own attorney.
He remained held Thursday evening in the San Mateo County jail on $10,000 bail.
Aires also faces three misdemeanor charges of possession of identifying information of other persons, after authorities say they allegedly found credit cards and personal information from three other people in his backpack.
The charges came less than a week after authorities received an unusual report on Feb. 8 of a small aircraft making an emergency landing near or on a beach in Half Moon Bay. When deputies searched the area, they found a single-engine airplane nose-down but intact and unoccupied on a stretch of sand just south of Poplar Beach.
A short time later, deputies spotted and detained a 50-year-old Miami man who matched the description of a person seen walking away from the aircraft, authorities said. No injuries were reported.
Authorities say the airplane had been stolen from the Palo Alto Airport. FAA and public records show the aircraft is registered to a San Mateo resident who is a flight instructor in Palo Alto.