Man who impersonated a general and landed a helicopter to impress a woman pleads guilty

The man accused of trying to impress a woman by landing a chartered helicopter at SAS Institute in Cary pled guilty June 26 to impersonating a three-star Army general.

The U.S Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina said Christian Desgroux, 57, pled guilty to falsely impersonating an officer and illegally transporting someone under the guise of a classified briefing.

He will be sentenced July 23 and faces a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a term of supervised release.

The unusual case against Desgroux, which is under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, unfolded after authorities say he had a charter helicopter pilot unexpectedly land on a soccer field in November at the sprawling corporate campus of the technology company.

Wearing a military battle uniform, Desgroux told a security officer who confronted him that he was there to pick up a female employee to take her to Fort Bragg for a classified briefing authorized by President Donald Trump, according to federal agents.

After he was charged with a federal count of pretending to be a military officer, his attorney requested that he undergo a psychological evaluation. A Homeland Security agent previously testified that investigators suspected Desgroux was mentally ill.

Desgroux was examined at a federal prison facility in California, and a psychiatric report was filed under seal with the court in May, according to court records.

It's not clear exactly what the report says, but his attorney, Andrew McCoppin, wrote in a court filing June 14 that his client won't object to the conclusion that he was legally sane at the time.

Before Tuesday's arraignment, McCoppin argued in court documents that sentencing guidelines call for no more than six months. Desgroux has been in federal custody for about five months, so McCoppin sought his release pending sentencing.

The plea caps off a bizarre story in which Desgroux went to great lengths to convince the woman and SAS security guards that he served in the military.

Desgroux had chartered the helicopter out of Charlotte and told the pilot he had authorization to land at SAS. When it touched down on the software company’s soccer field, he immediately jumped out wearing a battle-dress uniform and combat patches and three stars, though he had never served in the U.S. Army.

“He saluted the security officers,” agent Tony Bell testified in February. He is with the Department of Homeland Security. “They actually saluted him back.”

He then flew away with the woman for about 30 minutes before returning to Cary, Bell testified.

When Bell later interviewed the woman, he testified, she said she assumed Desgroux was trying to impress her and start a romantic relationship.

Then, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Numbers ordered Desgroux detained, noting that the defendant has contacts in his native Chile and reported having considerable income along with a sea plane and yacht. His other charges outside the helicopter incident included stalking, assault on a female and misuse of a 911 system – crimes involving his stepdaughter, wife and girlfriend.

The woman later told Bell that she had known Desgroux for about 20 years. She knew he was coming to SAS that day but expected him to come by car. They were planning to meet an attorney, Bell said, apparently to seek a patent about a prototype Desgroux had been developing.

Their flight to SAS was the second Desgroux had chartered. Earlier in 2017, Desgroux chartered a helicopter to Jacksonville – again wearing an Army uniform – and had the pilot land at a KOA Kampground so he could meet briefly with a woman there. On that trip, an agent testified, Desgroux stated his desire to land a helicopter on an aircraft carrier in Norfolk. He also described himself as a pilot who had flown Apache helicopters during the Gulf War.

Desgroux was born in Chile and became a U.S. citizen in 2016, Bell said. He came to the United States in 1978, moved to Raleigh in 1980 and has had legal status for his entire stay.

He worked as a mechanic out of his garage on Mt. Vernon Church Road in far north Raleigh, not far from Falls Lake. One of the pending charges he faces in other cases relate to his work there.

Early this year, Desgroux was charged with felony conversion in a case involving a 2001 Honda CRV left in his care. Court documents name Kathleen Gould, a student at the University of South Carolina, as a witness in the case. She said she took her car to Desgroux for an oil change, but he called later and told her it was no longer drivable, offering to sell her a new one.

“He told me to take my things out of the car but do not try to start it or the engine will backfire and catch fire,” she said. She called police after finding the car in a different position and then moved off the property altogether. It was recently discovered at a house down the street.

She described Desgroux as a family friend who described himself as being in the military. “He’s been telling us that for as long as we’ve known him,” she said.

Numerous pictures online show him with the Steele Creek Yacht Club at Kerr Lake, in which he is shown piloting a light-sport aircraft and taking members on trips. In those pictures, he is described as a military man who took part in a 2014 Memorial Day service.

This story was originally published June 26, 2018 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Man who impersonated a general and landed a helicopter to impress a woman pleads guilty."