BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – One of two men arrested at the Bessemer Airport after flying 3 kilograms of cocaine across the country on a private plane has agreed to plead guilty to a reduced federal charge.
Jaydon Cade Basi signed a plea agreement Feb. 17 in which he agreed to plead guilty to misprision of felony — knowingly concealing a federal crime — in exchange for the dismissal of the original charges against him. Misprision of felony carries a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison.
The plea deal is the latest development in a case that began when FBI agents say a California biker gang member named Atavien Stephen Whitesell offered to fly cocaine to Alabama on a private plane.
What the plea agreement says
According to the plea agreement, the FBI began investigating Whitesell in February 2025 after a confidential source told agents Whitesell could supply kilograms of cocaine and firearms for sale in the Northern District of Alabama. Whitesell told the source he had a friend who was a pilot and could fly the drugs to Alabama…