January 30, 2015

Miller Man Indicted for Shooting at Airplane

SPRINGFIELD, MO—Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Miller, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for shooting at an airplane.

David Leroy Dickenson, 38, of Miller, was charged in an indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on Jan. 20, 2015. That indictment was unsealed and made public following Dickenson’s arrest and initial court appearance. Dickenson remains in federal custody pending the court’s ruling on a detention motion.

The federal indictment alleges that Dickenson attempted to set fire to, damage, destroy, disable and wreck a 1997 S2R 510 Thrush aircraft on Dec. 3, 2014. Dickenson allegedly shot a firearm at an aircraft engaged in crop dusting then attempted to dispose of the firearm to prevent its discovery by law enforcement.

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the FBI.