A man allegedly on magic mushrooms while on a United Airlines flight from Miami to Washington DC was arrested after he assaulted the crew members on Tuesday, October 4.
According to an affidavit filed in a Virginia court, Cherruy Loghan Sevilla started acting out one hour into the flight. He was seen walking around the plane, running up and down the aisle, going to the front of the plane while clapping loudly and cursing near the cockpit entrance.
Sevilla was said to have broken a handle off the bathroom door and he opened the bathroom while another passenger was still occupying it.
He also scared passengers by getting close to their faces and staring at them while smiling. His actions made a man and his daughter, sitting near him, move to a different seat after Sevilla grabbed the girl’s arm. During an interview with authorities, the man told them that Sevilla was “not all right.”
Sevilla refused to follow instructions from the flight attendants, who told him to take his seat. He opted to lie on the floor instead. Things got out of hand and physical when a flight attendant told Sevilla to return to his seat. Allegedly, he refused to heed her order and attacked her by grabbing her right breast and squeezing it.
After that, several passengers, flight crew, and a police officer who was also onboard jumped in to detain Sevilla, who tried to fight them off, but they eventually handcuffed him.
While being detained, the troublemaker twisted the arm of another flight crew member during the struggle.
The court document also states that although Sevilla was handcuffed, he continued to be a menace to the other passengers as he was screaming and yelling incomprehensible things for the rest of the flight.
When the United Airlines flight landed at Washington Dulles International airport, police officers, including FBI special agents, who were already at the airport, took Sevilla into custody. He was arrested for an assault within the country’s maritime and territorial jurisdiction and for interfering with members of a flight crew.
United Airlines issued a statement thanking their flight attendants for handling the difficult situation professionally. The airline followed up with their crew members and ensured that they were all okay.
A few hours after his arrest, Sevilla was interviewed by the FBI. He told them that he had ingested a psilocybin, commonly known as magic mushrooms, before boarding his flight at the Miami International Airport.
According to authorities, Sevilla recollected being completely out of it. He remembered getting out of his seat, touching people, being loud, and causing a scene during the flight. He also said it was not his first time taking magic mushrooms and apologized for his actions.
It was also not the first time a passenger has been arrested for causing a scene on a United Airlines flight. In the past few months, several passengers have been arrested due to rowdy behavior, which sometimes leads to injuring a flight crew member.