Andrew C. Thornton II was a head member of "The Company", a drug smuggling ring in Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. The son of Carter and Peggy Thornton of Threave Main Stud farm in southern Bourbon County, Kentucky

Bourbon County, Kentucky

Bourbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the remnant of what was previously a much larger Bourbon County, established as part of Virginia in 1785, and comprising what are now thirty-four modern Kentucky counties...

. Drew grew up living a privileged life in the Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

 area and attended the private Sayre School with many other Lexington blue bloods. He later transferred to Sewanee Military Academy and then joined the Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 as a paratrooper

Paratrooper

Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...

. After quitting the Army, he became a Lexington police officer http://www.lfucg.com/police/index.asp on the narcotics task force. He then attended the University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky

The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...

 Law School

University of Kentucky College of Law

The College of Law is a college of the University of Kentucky. Founded initially from a law program at Transylvania University in 1799, the law program at UK began operations in 1908; it was one of the nation's first public law schools...

. During his tenure, he began smuggling

Smuggling

Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...

.

Thornton had a criminal conviction for drug possession while he engaged in drug trafficking. On a particular smuggling run from Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, having dumped packages of cocaine

Cocaine

Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

 off near the Blairsville, N. Georgia, Andrew jumped from his auto-piloted Cessna 404

Cessna 404

|-See also:-External links:* *...

. In the September 11, 1985 jump, he was caught in his parachute

Parachute

A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...

 and ended up in a free fall to the ground. His dead body was found in the back yard of Knoxville, Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee

Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...

 resident Fred Myers. The plane crashed over 60 miles away in Hayesville, North Carolina

Hayesville, North Carolina

Hayesville is a town in Clay County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 297 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Clay County.-Geography:Hayesville is located at ....

.
At death Thornton was wearing night vision goggles, a bulletproof vest, Gucci loafers, and a green Army duffel bag

Duffel bag

A duffel bag is a large cylindrical bag made of cloth with a drawstring closure at the top....

 containing approximately 40 kilos (79 lbs.) of cocaine valued at $15 million, $4,500 in cash, knives, and two pistols. Three months later, a dead black bear

American black bear

The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

 was found in the Chattahoochee National Forest that had apparently overdosed on cocaine dropped by Thornton.

The story of Andrew C. Thornton II was examined in Dominick Dunne

Dominick Dunne

Dominick John Dunne was an American writer and investigative journalist, whose subjects frequently hinged on the ways in which high society interacts with the judicial system...

's Power, Privilege, and Justice and in Sally Denton's The Bluegrass Conspiracy. Robert L. Williams, Cowboys Caravan, looks into the death of his son David, and his skydiving relationship with Drew Thornton. Andrew “Drew” Thornton was also detailed in a Discovery Channel double-length episode of “The FBI Files

The FBI Files

The FBI Files is an American television docudrama series that originally ran from 1998 to 2006. It was carried by the Discovery Channel cable network and produced by New Dominion Pictures of Suffolk, Virginia...

” named “Dangerous Company

Dangerous Company

Dangerous Company: The Consulting Powerhouses and the Businesses They Save and Ruin is a book written by James O'Shea and Charles Madigan. It is one of several business books that are critical of the functioning and importance of Management Consulting as an industry...

” in 2003.

Known Associates

Harold Brown

Harold Brown

Harold Brown may refer to:*Harold Brown *Harold P. Brown, builder of the first electric chair*Harold L. Brown, Pennsylvania politician*Harold Brown , American physicist, U.S...

, DEA agent

Bradley F. Bryant, childhood friend and partner in "The Company"

William Taulbee Canan, former Lexington police officer

Dan Chandler, son of Kentucky Governor Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler, Sr.

James Purdy Lambert, owner of Lexington's Library Lounge night club and friend and business associate of Governor John Y. Brown, Jr.

John Y. Brown, Jr.

This article is about one of four John Young Browns, from Kentucky, that have served political office. For others see: John Young Brown ...

Henry S. Vance, staff member of Governor John Y. Brown, Jr.

John Y. Brown, Jr.

This article is about one of four John Young Browns, from Kentucky, that have served political office. For others see: John Young Brown ...

Wallace McClure Also Known As "Mike Kelly" - associate in Lexington (now deceased)

David "Cowboy" Williams, skydiver, good friend, alleged smuggler, died in plane crash, two weeks after Thornton.

Rebecca Sharp, girlfriend and confidante of Drew Thornton.

Derrick "Rex" James, associate in Fort Lauderdale, Fl., arrested in December, 1982. Served 10 year sentence for selling drug plans. Owned a transport business, called Cargo Dominica; operated the business from the Hotel Susserou in Roseau, Dominica.