Published: November 10, 2009 09:36 pm      

Va man pleads guilty to diverting Navy jet parts

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A Virginia Beach man is pleading guilty to unlawfully diverting Navy fighter jet parts.

Federal authorities say 46-year-old Jody Goucher pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a charge of unlawfully selling and disposing of government property.

According to court documents, Goucher worked at Naval Air Station Oceana to demilitarize and destroy F-14 fighter jets that had been retired from service. Court records show Goucher directed a subordinate of his to deliver an F-14 cockpit to a former museum director in New Jersey.

Two other men, 49-year-old Wayne Miller of Redbank, N.J., and 43-year-old Matthew Sutton of Mineral Wells, Texas, have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled for trial on Jan. 20.

Sentencing for Goucher is scheduled for March 1.