Bruce Matthew Plummer

A Fort Myers man was sentenced to 12 years for attempting to steal plane, among other crimes.

Bruce Plummer, 44, of Fort Myers, has been found guilty of two counts of armed burglary, grand theft, possession of a bulletproof vest during the commission of a felony, and armed trespassing, for a crime involving stealing a plane.

He was sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by five years of state probation. He was also ordered to pay $261,748.83 in restitution to Endurance American Insurance Company. Restitution was ordered and reserved for three other victims as well as Page Field Airport. The defendant was also ordered to pay court costs, the cost of prosecution, forfeit any firearms, as well as undergo a mental health evaluation.

According to a report from the State Attorney’s Office, in the morning of Feb. 26, 2024, Lee County Port Authority Police responded to an aviation ramp at Page Field Airport in Fort Myers, about a stolen plane. Maintenance personnel arrived at the airport that morning and found an airplane that was moved and damaged. The officer was shown a plane that had crashed into a light pole and the perimeter fence of the airport. The plane had a broken wing and was sitting in the grass, just off the ramp.

According to the report, the single door to the aircraft was open and in the second row of seats, the pilot operating handbook was laying on the seat. Multiple switches and lights were in the on position and the throttle for one engine was pushed forward, between idle and full power. An airport employee found a gun and tactical ballistic vest not far from the crash site, over a fence.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office then joined the investigation.

Surveillance video from the airport showed a man, later identified as Plummer, arriving in a black Dodge Charger, then scaling a barbed wire fence. He then attempted to start and move two different planes before successfully starting and crashing the damaged plane. Surveillance video from a nearby convenience store helped identify Plummer.

A search warrant was served at Plummer’s residence, and detectives located clothing and shoes he wore during the crime. The black jacket Plummer wore, which was torn, was found in the Dodge Charger. A piece of material that was ripped and left on the barbed wire fence when Plummer scaled it, matched the jacket material.