A San Diego man has been charged with two felonies in connection with hiding in a terminal ceiling at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana on Tuesday.
John Howard Hecker, 51, faces one count each of theft and vandalism, both felonies, for the airport incident, and is also charged with misdemeanor trespassing.
Prosecutors said the incident occurred on Friday, Aug. 20, when Hecker reportedly broke onto the airport premises, triggering a three-hour security lockdown and search. O.C. sheriff’s deputies said Hecker was seen wearing a white jumpsuit worn by airport workers they believe he stole after entering the facility. He was also reportedly seen driving an airport vehicle across the airfield.
Later that day, a crisis negotiator and sheriff’s deputies were seen trying to coax Hecker out of the ceiling inside the airport.
According to The Orange County Register, Hecker has a lengthy criminal record. In 2008, he was convicted by federal prosecutors for attempting to smuggle five people over the U.S.-Mexico border. While on probation for that offense, he was arrested three more times in connection with drug possession and breaking parole. His third arrest landed him back behind bars for 10 months.
Upon Hecker’s release in 2013, he was again arrested in Santee when police identified him as a suspect in two San Diego-area bank robberies. According to the San Diego County D.A., Hecker was convicted of two counts of second degree robbery and a drug charge in connection with that incident, and spent 15 months in prison.
An alleged tattoo on Hecker's neck suggests he could have ties to neo-Nazism.
The O.C. Sheriff’s Department has declined to comment as to whether authorities determined Hecker’s motive for breaking into the airport. A security review and investigation by the TSA is still ongoing.