When John Yurkovich (45) boarded a United flight from Newark, New Jersey to Miami, he probably didn’t expect him to be landing in North Carolina, facedown on the floor, with his hands tied behind his back and his shirt pulled up to your head. This is what happens to people who try to bite their seatmates’ ears, I suppose.
The victim said in a police report that he was sitting next to Yurkovich, that he “looked very agitated” and was bouncing on his chair. Yurkovich asked a flight attendant for water and took what appeared to be pills from his luggage. The pills did not calm Yurkovich. In fact, they made him even more agitated. He started “screaming and struggling,” says the report.
From then on, things got worse.
Live 5 WCSC reports:
The victim said he raised his arm to protect himself from a blow and said the man hit him with a closed fist on the right side of the face, causing his glasses to break.
Witnesses and other passengers intervened to contain the man, the report said.
A second victim said the man hit him and may have broken his nose.
The police spoke to a third victim, who said he was punched in the head as well.
A passenger on the plane who identified himself as a doctor told police he gave Benadryl an injection into the man’s buttocks to help sedate him.
Yurkovich was charged with possession of methamphetamine. At his hearing, he told the judge that the police got it all wrong. “It’s not what they say. It’s a special kind of … it’s a tranquilizer for cats, actually. It’s not what they say,” he said.
According to Live 5 WCSC, Yurkovich is manager of the Nations Lending agency. I’ve heard of creditors who like to speak ill of people, but biting them seems like an overly assertive sales tactic. Here is a video to welcome him to the company.
Yurkovich is held for $ 50,000 bonds.