'Cocaine Bear’: How Knox News covered the wild, true story behind the movie
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Deep in the Georgia forest, a 500-pound bear ingests a boatload of cocaine and then embarks on a drug-fueled murderous rampage.
At least that's the fictionalized plot behind the new movie “Cocaine Bear.” But the real tale behind the dark comedy thriller was actually inspired by a bizarre true story, and Knox News covered it all.
Let's go back to September 1985, when parachutist Andrew Thornton fell to his death in South Knoxville. The former narcotics officer, lawyer and skydiver was found equipped with duffle bags of combat gear, including weapons ... and more than 75 pounds of cocaine.
The wild story didn’t stop there.
Here’s how this actual tale involving a narcotics-officer-turned-drug-smuggler, a karate instructor, a Colombian cartel and one cocaine-overdosed bear unfolded on the pages of the Knoxville News Sentinel.
“Cocaine Bear” opens nationwide Feb. 24, but some Knoxville theaters have special evening showtimes scheduled Feb. 23.
The real 'Cocaine Bear' mystery began in Knoxville
Sept. 11, 1985
"Chutist with $50 million in drugs dies" read the headline at the top of page one of the News Sentinel.
The newspaper reported that a lone parachutist smuggling “high quality pure cocaine from South America under the cover of night died in South Knoxville when his parachute failed to open properly.”
Federal drug enforcement agents recovered “an Army duffle bag loaded with football-sized bundles of cocaine.”
The man had an assortment of papers and survivalist equipment, including night vision goggles, knives and ropes.
It was suspected his plane was flown low to avoid radar detection.
Sept. 12, 1985
More details about the bizarre drug drop hit the front page of the News Sentinel the next day, including the identity of the smuggler.
“Andrew Carter Thornton II lived as he died – an enigma,” reporter Robert Norris wrote. The parachutist was revealed to be a suspended lawyer and potential multimillionaire from Kentucky who was on parole for a drug trafficking charge.
“Why did a man reared in the idyllic setting of Kentucky horse country become involved with an international drug-smuggling ring?” Norris wrote. "He could have lived the life of a country squire surrounded by … tweed sports coats, fine English saddles on the horseback rides on the family farm. Thornton chose instead a life of daring, a sort of criminal James Bond.”
Readers learned Thornton’s plane had crashed into the side of a North Carolina cliff after it was placed on autopilot before he jumped.
September 1985
Thornton’s daring approach to smuggle in the drugs on a one-man mission was puzzling to experts. But did he really act alone?
“'I’m glad his parachute didn’t open. I hope he got a hell of a high out of that (cocaine),’” a U.S. assistant attorney general in California told the News Sentinel. The lawyer had prosecuted Thornton on a marijuana-trafficking charge that resulted in Thornton serving six months in a federal prison.
By late September, the story gained international attention. Media outlets from New York, Seattle and even Sydney, Australia, reached out to Knoxville officers. "I've had newspapers, magazines, including Newsweek and Time, radio and TV stations call me from places I've never heard of before," Knoxville Police Detective Lt. Charles Coleman said in a Knox News "Knoxville Calling" column.
More cocaine from Thornton's drop also started turning up in September. U.S. Forestry agents in Georgia near the Tennessee border found three duffle bags with 99 packages of the addictive white powder.
The bear that had a 'cocaine snack'
December 1985
In late December, a bear was found dead in Chattahoochee National Forest at the Georgia-Tennessee border. Scattered around were 40 plastic bags ripped open by the bear.
An autopsy confirmed the 175-pound bear (not a 500-pound one) died of a "cocaine snack," Knox News reported. The bear overdosed after ingesting around 2 to 4 grams of cocaine, and likely died within 30 to 45 minutes.
Despite the many open, empty packets − from which drug enforcement officers said the cocaine had probably dissolved in the intervening months − it was just "cocaine bear," not "cocaine bears." One Georgia official carefully noted in coverage at the time, "We don't know how many bears are involved. We know there was one, because we found him. There's nothing left but bones and a big hide."
Three more duffle bags of cocaine were found hanging in a tree in Georgia, bringing the total amount recovered to 520 pounds.
Thornton’s girlfriend is charged
February 1988
Thornton’s girlfriend, Rebecca Sharp, allegedly had been waiting in Knoxville to take him (and a second jumper) back to Kentucky. She fled when he never arrived at their meeting spot, the News Sentinel reported.
In 1988, Sharp faced drug conspiracy charges for her involvement in the plot. She even supposedly told undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agents posing as Colombian cartel representatives that she would ensure the massive drug deal was completed and would have other accomplices killed if they failed at the drug delivery a second time.
A judge ultimately ruled her statements inadmissible in court because they “were made in a situation which was so inherently coercive that they must be considered as involuntary and compelled.” Charges were dropped against Sharp without prejudice, meaning she could have been indicted again on the same charges.
The second jumper finally speaks
March 1990
Bill Leonard, Thornton’s mysterious accomplice, spoke publicly for the first time in an exclusive interview with former News Sentinel managing editor Tom Chester to recount the saga. Rebecca Sharp also shared her side of the story. The report was a three-page spread, beginning on the front page.
Leonard met Thornton in karate class. He claimed Thornton had called him on Sept. 8, 1985, and asked Leonard to be his bodyguard during a run in the Bahamas. Thornton only told him about the drug pickup in Colombia once they were in the air.
They landed in the middle of a Colombian swamp where three people with machine guns greeted them. They quickly loaded 400 kilos of cocaine on the plane and headed back to the United States.
Thornton claimed DEA jets had begun following them in Florida, and he ordered Leonard to start dumping the bags of cocaine out of the plane between Florida and Georgia.
A brutal landing in Knoxville
According to Leonard's News Sentinel interview, Thornton gave him a quick skydiving lesson while flying over Knoxville, and then ordered him to jump. Thornton tied bags of cocaine to his body and leapt. Leonard landed hard, but safely; Thornton did not.
Leonard landed near Knoxville Downtown Island Airport. He walked to a grocery store – getting attacked by a dog along the way – to call a cab to meet up with Sharp as planned, he said. When Thornton never showed up, the pair decided to drive back to Kentucky, and learned of Thornton’s death on the radio.
"DEA, Customs, Knoxville narcotics agents, Kentucky police, the FAA … everybody was crawling all over the cocaine parachutist investigation before lunch," Chester recalled after Thornton's body was found and the investigation was launched.
Investigations into the wild tale resulted in dismissed charges against the few people suspected to be involved in the smuggling scheme. By 1990, feds considered the case "closed," reported Chester. Leonard was never charged.
Where to watch 'Cocaine Bear'
“Cocaine Bear” hits movie theaters nationwide Feb. 24. However, Regal and AMC locations in Knoxville have evening showings beginning Feb. 23.
Directed by Elizabeth Banks ("Charlie's Angels" and "Pitch Perfect 2"), the film stars Keri Russell ("The Americans"), Margo Martindale ("The Americans"), O’Shea Jackson Jr. ("Straight Outta Compton"), Jesse Tyler Ferguson ("Modern Family") and Ray Liotta ("The Many Saints of Newark") in one of Liotta's final performances before his death last year.
Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter for Knox News. He can be reached by email at devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. Follow Devarrick on Twitter @dturner1208. Enjoy exclusive content and premium perks while supporting strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: The ‘Cocaine Bear’ true story is real, and Knox News covered it live
