DENVER – A Colorado man accused of interrupting an Alaskan Airlines flight from Seattle to Denver for refusing to put on a mask and then standing up and peeing in the cockpit faces a federal charge of to interfere with the flight crew and attendees with a maximum term of 20 years in prison and a possible fine of $ 250,000.
The FBI arrested 24-year-old Landon Grier of Canon City after the flight landed on March 9, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Denver.
The affidavit from FBI Special Agent Martin Daniell III, who interviewed Grier and crew members, says Grier appeared to be trying to sleep, but took a look at an assistant when he left. request that the mask be put on repeatedly, as required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
A passenger later summoned attendees because Grier was urinating in his seating area, Daniell wrote.
The officer said Grier told him he had several beers and “a couple of shots” before boarding the flight, fell asleep on the plane and “woke up because flight attendants they would shout that he was peeing. “
“He stated that he didn’t remember hitting the flight attendant and that he didn’t know if he was peeing,” Daniell said.
Grier made a first court appearance on Thursday. A federal public defender was appointed to represent him. He was released on $ 10,000 bail pending his next court appearance scheduled for March 26.
Prosecutors are not commenting on the pending cases and a call to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Denver not to be notified immediately Friday afternoon.
In a statement, Alaska Airlines said, “We will not tolerate any inconvenience on board our aircraft or at any of the airports we serve.”