Pilot Was Drunk When He Landed Plane In Whittier Parking Lot: Police

WHITTIER, CA -- A pilot who was allegedly flying a small plane while under the influence of alcohol and landed in a Whittier parking lot after running out of fuel was free on bail Tuesday.

Darrell Roberts, 58, of the Riverside County community of Winchester, was taken into custody after the Piper airplane landed about 10:15 p.m. Monday in the 3700 block of Workman Mill Road, according to the sheriff's department.

Roberts was booked at the sheriff's Pico Rivera Station on suspicion of misdemeanor operating an aircraft with a 0.04 percent blood-alcohol level or more, and was released on $1,000 bail. He was tentatively scheduled to appear in court July 5 in Downey.

No injuries were reported, but there was minor damage to a stop sign and the aircraft, according to the sheriff's department.

Roberts was alone in the airplane. He was en route from Temecula to San Diego when the airplane ran out of fuel, forcing him to land where he did, sheriff's Lt. Alex Villanueva said.

-- City News Service, photo via Shutterstock