x
Breaking News
More () »

Plea hearing scheduled for Maryland couple in spy case

Jonathan and Diana Toebbe were arrested last October in West Virginia. They later pleaded not guilty to espionage-related charges that carry life in prison.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va — Editor's note: The video above originally aired in October 2021.

A plea hearing has been scheduled for a Navy nuclear engineer accused of trying to sell information about nuclear-powered warships to a foreign country.
Jonathan Toebbe and his wife, Diana Toebbe, of Annapolis, Maryland, were arrested last October in West Virginia, and had pleaded not guilty to espionage-related charges that carry life in prison.

Court records show that a plea hearing is scheduled for Jonathan Toebbe for Monday afternoon in federal court in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

Court records did not include further details about the hearing and there is no indication that a hearing has been scheduled for Diana Toebbe.

Prosecutors have alleged that Jonathan Toebbe tried to pass secrets about sophisticated and expensive Virginia-class submarines to someone he thought was a representative of a foreign government but who was actually an undercover FBI agent. The government said Diana Toebbe served as a lookout for her husband at several "dead drop" locations at which sensitive information was left behind.

The country to which Toebbe was allegedly looking to sell the information has not been identified in court documents.

 

WUSA9 is now on Roku and Amazon Fire TVs. Download the apps today for live newscasts and video on demand.

Download the WUSA9 app to get breaking news, weather and important stories at your fingertips.

Sign up for the Get Up DC newsletter: Your forecast. Your commute. Your news.
Sign up for the Capitol Breach email newsletter, delivering the latest breaking news and a roundup of the investigation into the Capitol Riots on January 6, 2021.

Before You Leave, Check This Out