A Los Angeles computer game developer who admitted operating a drone that crashed into and damaged a Super Scooper firefighting aircraft battling the Palisades Fire was sentenced Monday to a mix of prison and home detention.
Peter Tripp Akemann, 57, of Culver City, pleaded guilty in February to a federal class-A misdemeanor count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Akemann was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald to serve 14 days in federal prison, followed by 30 days’ home detention. He was also ordered to pay about $156,000 in restitution and fines, prosecutors said.
As a result of the collision, the firefighting aircraft was taken out of service for a period of time and was not able to continue its firefighting missi