Airline passenger faces federal charge with a possible $250,000 fine for refusing to wear mask, urinating in cabin

Associated PressSat, March 13, 2021, 5:21 PM

DENVER — A Colorado man accused of disrupting an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Denver by refusing to wear a mask and then standing up and urinating in the cabin faces a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew and attendants that carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine.

The FBI arrested 24-year-old Landon Grier of Canon City after the flight landed March 9, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Denver.

The affidavit by FBI Special Agent Martin Daniell III, who interviewed Grier and crew members, says Grier appeared to be trying to sleep but swatted at an attendant when she asked him repeatedly to put on his mask, as required by the Federal Aviation Administration.

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.@DFOFlorida and @CBPPortDirMia teams stopped a man and his girlfriend for a luggage exam where they found a pair of sandals and a tiny drug balloon, or pellet, containing cocaine.

— Director of Field Operations Vernon T. Foret (@DFOFlorida) February 19, 2021

Howard CohenSat, February 20, 2021, 10:14 AM

A drug bust at Miami International Airport had a decidedly Florida flavor.

One clue: the brown and beige sandals were rather heavy for such a simple looking pair.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, a man traveling from Jamaica tried to smuggle more than a pound of cocaine inside a pair of sandals.

On Friday, officers said they found a white powdery substance and a tiny drug balloon, or pellet, concealed in the casual footwear during a baggage inspection. The items weighed about 1.3 pounds and field tested positive for cocaine.

They also discovered that he swallowed more than two dozen pellets filled with cocaine.

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Our @CBP officers @iflymia arrested a passenger who attempted to smuggle .43kg of cocaine concealed in a pair of sneakers. @CBP officers continue to stay vigilant and protect our country 24×7 from narcotics and other illicit contraband. pic.twitter.com/gupiyiZyCv

— Acting Port Director Robert Del Toro (@CBPPortDirMIA) February 11, 2021

By Jackie Salo

An American tourist has returned a fragment of ancient marble stolen from a trip to Rome — along with a note apologizing for “being such an American a–hole.”

The Nation Roman Museum received a bulky package this week from Atlanta, Georgia, which contained the rock inscribed with the message, “To Sam, love Jess, Rome 2017” in black marker, the Guardian reported.

Along with the parcel was a letter asking for forgiveness from a visitor, who museum officials assume was a young woman named Jess.

“In 2017 she must have come to Rome, and took this fragment of marble in order to gift it to her boyfriend,” museum director Stéphane Verger told Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.

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A passenger on an Easyjet flight from Ireland to Scotland reportedly made a scene, shouting expletives and warning her fellow travelers that “everybody dies!” after she was asked to leave the plane for refusing to wear a face mask.

“Police attended flight EZY481 from Belfast to Edinburgh on October 18th due to a passenger behaving disruptively on board and refusing to wear their face covering,” a spokesperson for Easyjet confirmed in a statement to Fox News.

“In line with EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) guidelines, all passengers are currently required to bring their own face covering for their flight which must be worn during boarding and onboard, except when eating or drinking,” the statement continued. “Passengers receive clear communications before they travel and via announcements onboard to ensure they are aware of this requirement for the health and safety of everyone on board. We will not tolerate disruptive behavior towards other passengers and crew.”

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An Easyjet passenger is thrown off the Belfast to Edinburgh flight this afternoon after she refused to wear a face covering 👀 pic.twitter.com/YwRLNBK8aA

— stephen 🇬🇧 (@LFC_blano) October 18, 2020

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August 13, 2020, 7:40 AM CDT 0:22 0:51   Face mask controversy fuels heated confrontations as masks become requirement

A woman struck an American Airlines gate agent after she was denied boarding at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Wednesday for refusing to wear a mask, reports the Arizona Republic, which is a part of the USA TODAY Network.

The woman was a passenger on American Airlines flight 2027 from Los Angeles, which according to Flight Aware arrived in Phoenix just before 8 a.m. She was scheduled to connect to Las Vegas. After she refused to wear a mask on the first flight, crew members flagged her itinerary to be denied service in accordance with American’s policy on mask wearing.

“After arriving into Phoenix and being informed that they would not be able to take their connecting flight to Las Vegas, the individual became irate and struck an American team member in the terminal,” said Curtis Blessing, a spokesperson for American Airlines. “Law enforcement was requested and since this is now a law enforcement matter, we would refer additional questions to the Phoenix Police Department.”

Blessing said the gate agent was not injured.

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — A scandal involving the abduction and exploitation of young children in a colonial Mexican city popular with tourists widened Wednesday when prosecutors released additional evidence that an adult apparently used other children to help kidnap a missing 2-year-old boy.

The search for Dylan Esaú Gómez Pérez led prosecutors in southern Chiapas state, on the Guatemalan border, to a house in San Cristobal de las Casas where 23 abducted children were being kept in deplorable conditions and forced to sell trinkets and handicrafts in the street.

But Dylan, who turns 3 in November, was not among them.

Reviewing surveillance cameras, state prosecutor Jorge Llaven said that a boy and a girl, both apparently around 12, were seen talking to a woman who is a suspect in the June 30 abduction. Llaven identified the woman as only as “Ofelia,” and offered a $13,500 reward for information about the location of her or the missing boy.

In photos from cameras, the boy and the girl enter the public market where Dylan’s mother worked in the colonial city. Dylan appears to follow the boy, and then the girl takes Dylan by the back of the jacket and walks out of the market with him. The girl is later seen returning alone, apparently having handed the missing boy over to someone else.

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An NFL player has anonymously filed a lawsuit against United Airlines over an alleged sexual assault that took place in February. In the lawsuit, which was obtained by Bleacher Report’s Master Tesfatsion, the anonymous player is seeking damages for sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligence and negligent hiring, training, supervision and retention by United. 

The player used the alias of “John Doe 1” to file the lawsuit. The player was sitting next to another man, “John Doe 2,” who is also a part of the lawsuit. The alleged sexual assault took place on a red-eye flight between Newark and Los Angeles that took place on February 10. In the lawsuit, the unidentified player claims that an “intoxicated” woman grabbed his penis and ripped off a mask that he had been wearing over his mouth and nose. The player had been wearing the mask for protective measures during the early stages of the Coronavirus pandemic. 

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SINGAPORE (AP) — An American cargo pilot who admitted to “poor judgment” in breaking a quarantine order to buy medical supplies became the first foreigner imprisoned in Singapore for breaching its restrictions meant to curb the coronavirus, his lawyer said Friday.

FedEx pilot Brian Dugan Yeargan, 44, of Alaska, was sentenced to four weeks Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to leaving his hotel room for three hours to buy masks and a thermometer, defense lawyer Ronnie Tan said.

Singapore has one of the largest outbreaks in Asia, with 26,000 cases. More than 90% of those infected are foreign workers living in crowded dormitories, while the government recently began easing restrictions for the local population.

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