DENVER – A Colorado man accused of interrupting an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Denver by refusing to wear a mask and then getting up and urinating in the cabin faces a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew and flight attendants who have a mandate maximum of 20 years in prison and a possible fine of $ 250,000.
The FBI arrested Landon Grier, 24, of Canon City, after the flight landed on March 9, according to a deposition filed with the United States District Court in Denver.
The statement by FBI special agent Martin Daniell III, who interviewed Grier and crew members, says Grier appeared to be trying to sleep, but struck an attendant when she repeatedly asked him to put on the mask, as required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
A passenger later called the attendants because Grier was urinating in his seating area, wrote Daniell.
The agent said Grier told him that he drank several beers and “a few shots” before boarding the plane, fell asleep on the plane and “woke up to screams from flight attendants who told him he was peeing”.
“He said he didn’t remember hitting the commissioner and didn’t know if he was peeing,” said Daniell.
Grier made a first appearance in court on Thursday. A federal public defender was appointed to represent him. He was released on $ 10,000 bail pending his next court hearing scheduled for March 26.
Public defenders do not comment on the pending cases, and a call to the United States Attorney’s Office in Denver for comment was not immediately returned on Friday.
In a statement, Alaska Airlines said, “We will not tolerate any disruption on board our aircraft or at any of the airports we serve.”
– The Associated Press