A San Diego man suspected of breaching security and stealing a vehicle at John Wayne Airport, causing passengers to be evacuated and incoming flights to be held on runways for hours, was in custody Saturday, authorities said.
The suspect was identified as Johnny Hecker, 51, of San Diego, the Orange County Sheriff's Department reported. Hecker was arrested on suspicion of trespassing and vandalism.
The initial call came in about 5:30 p.m. Friday about an incident that occurred outside of Terminal C, according to the Orange County Sheriff's PIO, Carrie Braun.
An airport employee found a male subject on the airfield. The man apparently took control of a vehicle and drove it out on the airfield.
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Emergency personal was notified, and an emergency response was activated.
The airport was locked down and evacuated and a search for the man was conducted, Braun said.
At 9:50 p.m. Hecker was taken into custody after police negotiated with him to come down from the ceiling.
Officials said they discovered where he was hiding after tiles from the ceiling began to fall. They stated they searched all over the airport, but they didn't think to search the ceiling.
Terminals A, B, and C were the only areas that were evacuated, the main terminals were not affected.
Newschopper4 was over the scene around 7:40 p.m. where multiple planes were seen at a standstill on the runway.
Airplanes were able to land but no planes were taking off.
Passengers reported being stuck inside their planes and airport for hours.
Passengers were going to be let out, but it was unclear if passengers would be able to board onto their flights.
At about 8:45 p.m. the airport tweeted that the terminals had reopened.
There was no immediate reports of any casualties or injuries.
