Stowaway Suspect To Plead Guilty to Charges

Los Angeles - An apparently homeless Nigerian-American man has agreed to plead guilty Tuesday to stowing away on a flight from New York to Los Angeles, federal prosecutors said today.

According to a signed agreement with prosecutors, 24-year-old Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi will enter his plea in Los Angeles federal court to one felony count that could land him in prison for up to five years.

He has also agreed to pay $942 restitution to Virgin America for the cost of the cross-country flight, according to the agreement.

In exchange for the plea, prosecutors will drop a second felony charge that Noibi attempted to use a fake identity to enter a secure area at Los Angeles International Airport, court documents show.

Noibi is charged with being a stowaway on the flight from New York that landed in Los Angeles on June 25. The indictment also alleges that, four days later, he attempted to get past security at LAX by fraud or false pretense with the intent of sneaking aboard another flight.

The June 29 arrest at LAX sparked national headlines because of the ease with which Noibi apparently got around several layers of airport security, using expired boarding passes with different names and without any photo identification.

In denying bail for Noibi on July 1, U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael R. Wilner said he appeared to be a flight risk and a potential danger to the community. Noibi apparently last lived in Chicago and holds dual citizenship -- in the United States and Nigeria.

A Facebook profile appearing to belong to Noibi describes him as an African missionary and a frequent flier.

Noibi allegedly used an outdated boarding pass with someone else's name on it to get on the Virgin America flight from JFK Airport to LAX. The flight crew became suspicious of him during the flight, and he was questioned on the ground in Los Angeles but released.

On June 29, Noibi allegedly tried to do the same thing again on a Delta flight to Atlanta. But he was never able to get on a plane, according to authorities, who said they found in his possession about 15 boarding passes issued to other people.

At the bail hearing, federal public defense attorney Carl Gunn said the accusations against his client amounted to little more than "theft of an airplane flight." He did not immediately return a call for comment about the plea agreement.

As a result of the plea, Noibi faces a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine, court papers show.