Man charged with assaulting flight attendants, breaking part of bathroom door during chaotic United Airlines flight
A man has been accused of assaulting two flight attendants and breaking part of a bathroom door during a chaotic United Airlines flight from Miami to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, according to court documents filed earlier this week. Once the plane landed and he was taken into custody, Cherruy Loghan Sevilla allegedly told authorities that he had taken the hallucinogenic drug psilocybin prior to boarding the flight.
The documents allege that Sevilla grew disruptive about an hour into the two-hour flight, yelling, exhibiting "disturbing/uncontrolled behavior" and assaulting at least two people. He's also accused of breaking a piece of plastic off the bathroom door and opening the locked door while another passenger was inside.
He's further accused of running down the aisle, clapping near the cockpit, and getting close to passengers' faces while staring at them and smiling. While he was initially convinced to take his seat, he then got up and attacked a flight attendant, "grabbing and twisting" her breast, the documents allege.
At that point, a group of passengers, flight attendants and an on-board law enforcement official managed to subdue Sevilla, the documents said — though he's accused of twisting another flight attendant's arm during the struggle.
Once the plane landed and he was transported to the local FBI office, Sevilla allegedly told authorities that he had consumed psilocybin — a hallucinogenic drug produced by many species of mushrooms — at the Miami airport before boarding the flight.
He allegedly told authorities that this was not his first time taking psilocybin, adding that "he was not totally surprised he acted this way after consuming it." He told authorities that he was sorry for what he had done, the documents said.
Sevilla has been charged with assault and with interfering with flight crew members and attendants. He will appear in court again next week.
