A passenger under the influence of illegal substances staged a brawl aboard a Boeing 737 aircraft. He faces 20 years in prison.
A 24-year-old man has been charged with assaulting and interfering with a flight attendant on a flight from Miami to Washington. The suspect is also accused of damaging the toilet door.
Cherrui Logan Sevilla, an American from Houston, told the FBI shortly after his arrest that he had taken an illegal drug shortly before boarding United Airlines flight UA2116.
The medical examiner determined that it was a psychedelic that can cause hallucinations. Under its influence, a person cannot think and act normally.
Sevilla did not deny that he had taken the “medicine” before, so he was surprised by the stories of witnesses about his behavior on board.
According to an affidavit filed by the FBI in a court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Seville began acting strangely about an hour after the two-hour flight to Washington.
At some point, he broke off a piece of plastic from the toilet door, and then, incredibly, managed to break the locked door and burst into another passenger who was inside at that moment.
Sevilla ran up and down the aisle, loudly clapped his hands near the cockpit, shouted obscenities, and put his hands in the faces of other passengers. He was sent back to his place, but he began to scream, squeal, and finally sprawled on the floor.
When the stewardess told him to return to his seat, Sevilla suddenly jumped up and attacked her, grabbed her chest, and began to “twist” her.
At that moment, other passengers and a law enforcement officer on the plane jumped out of their seats and intervened. Sevilla was handcuffed and chained to his chair. The pilots continued their flight to Washington.
The captain of the aircraft told the FBI that he had issued a level 2 alert, the second highest threat level, and had asked law enforcement to meet the aircraft upon arrival.
Sevilla was released on bail until his next court appearance on 13 October. If found guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.