A New York woman was sentenced to four months in federal prison after spitting on a passenger and shoving a flight attendant on an American Airlines flight in February 2021.
The judge in the US District Court in Arizona ordered Kelly Pichardo to pay $9,123 in fines and court costs. She will be put on supervised release after her release from prison.
Gary Restaino, the United States Attorney for the district of Arizona, said that there was a line between bad behavior on an airplane and criminal activity.
Ms. Pichardo has a 12-year-old daughter and lives with her mom. She admitted to interfering with a flight crew member.
Ana Botello said in an email that she was ashamed of her actions on the plane.
As mask mandates and Covid-19 restrictions lead to tension on airplanes, unruly and violent passengers shoved, hit and yelled at flight attendants and other passengers.
A woman punched a flight attendant, bloodying her face and chipping her teeth. Two major airlines, American and Southwest, which temporarily stopped serving alcohol on flights in order to cut down on bad behavior, put their plans on hold. Both airlines have stopped selling booze. The woman was sentenced for her part in that case.
Ms. Pichardo was flying first class from Dallas to Los Angeles with a friend.
A black passenger who was sitting behind the two women admonished them after the friend used a racial slur.
The passenger was the victim of racist abuse.
As other passengers tried to record the interaction with their cellphones, she became even more irate.
She lunged at him and pushed him in the chest as she tried to get past him.
Two people were arrested after the flight was diverted. According to court documents, Leeza Rodriguez pleaded guilty to interfering with a flight attendant. In November, she will be sentenced.
The prosecutors argued that a four-month sentence would show the public the consequences of unruly behavior on airplanes.
With an increase in these incidents over the past year, they wrote in a sentencing memo, which recommended what kind of punishment a person should receive.
There is a risk of more of these incidents occurring nationwide due to the increase in air travel this summer.
After a federal judge in Florida struck down a federal mask mandate on public transportation, reports of unruly behavior by passengers started to decline.
She has been employed at a local restaurant since the time of her arrest, and her lawyers asked that she be allowed to serve her sentence at home.
They said she had a history of mental illness and had been abused as a child.
Ms. Botello said that alcohol, the stresses of flying, and the fact that Ms. Pichardo was touched by a stranger made her snap.
Lisa Wayne is the executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. She said that the outrage over seeing flight attendants abused has led prosecutors and judges to seek stiff punishments against defendants.
Ms. Wayne said that this is the worst time to have this type of case.
She questioned the purpose of incarcerating Ms. Pichardo instead of allowing her to serve her sentence at home and pay her fines.
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-C.W.A., said sentences handed down to defendants convicted of assault should serve as a deterrent.
She said that flight attendants are not targets for crazy passengers. It's a federal crime to fly. There is no end to the period.
A spokesman for American Airlines declined to comment on the sentence and referred to a statement the company issued thanking crew members for their professionalism.
Ms. Pichardo will be sentenced on October 28.
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