A Colorado man faces up to 20 years in jail and a $250,000 fine after refusing to wear a mask then standing up and urinating onboard an Alaska Airlines flight.
Man Faces Up To 20 Years In Prison After Standing Up And Urinating On Alaska Airlines Flight
Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were waiting for Landon Grier, 24, when his Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle (SEA) to Denver (DEN) arrived in Colorado.
According to an FBI affidavit, Grier admitted to having “several beers” and “a couple of shots” before boarding his flight. He claims that the only thing he remembered was that he fell asleep but was later shaken awake and “yelled at by the flight attendants who told him he was peeing.”
The FBI report notes that Grier had no recollection of urinating in the cabin or hitting flight attendants.
But flight attendants onboard told a different story. Grier was gently awakened several times and instructed to put on a mask, as required by federal mandate. He refused. First he swatted away flight attendants, but as they persisted, he became agitated and struck one. He then stood up and urinated at his seat, though it isn’t clear if he removed his trousers first.
A public defender has been appointed to represent Grier and he has been released on a $10,000 bond. He will appear again in court on March 26th.
Alaska Airlines refused to provide further details, simply noting:
“We will not tolerate any disturbance onboard our aircraft or at any of the airports we serve.”
CONCLUSION
I’ve made the point before and I will make it again. Over and over and over, if necessary. Heavy drinking and flying don’t mix. I have witnessed it myself: the idea that you can drink up, get buzzed, and then sleep through your flight is a dangerous gamble. Alcohol can have strange and unintended effects on the body and this young man may have effectively ruined his life by his poor choice. Don’t make that choice. Be responsible.
“but as they perished” ? Persisted, I hope.
Yep. Thanks.
20 years for urinating in public?! What is this, the dark ages?
Yeah, that seems way too much. I honestly wouldn’t give this guy any jail time, maybe a few years at most. A fine, probation, and banned from flying for at least a few years would be fine for me.
20 years is a joke.
Online, a lot of people attack Singapore has being harsh. Not likely. Here, the story is the nan faces up to 20 years in prison. In Singapore, the sentence would probably be a fine of a few thousand and prison for a few months. No caning unless he raped a FA.
This might be a medical condition. We should give him the benefit of the doubt/ a second chance.
To all those who commented..read it again..”upto 20 years”. He was probably booked under some law that carries a max of 20yrs. He didn’t actually get 20 yrs
No. 20 years might be excessive, but he refused to wear a mask, hit a flight attendant and urinated on the plane.
I’m sure he didn’t get 20 years for urinating. His sentence no doubt reflected the entirety of his actions, including refusing to comply with flight attendants’ instructions, refusing to wear a mask, striking a flight attendant, and the vandalism of urinating at his seat.
My question is if we has inebriated during boarding, because if so, he should have been refused and sent away.
I would like to amend my comment above in light of the fact that he has not been sentenced yet, so the 20 years is a hypothetical maximum that he could receive. It’s unlikely that he will.
It’s unlikely that drinking turned the guy into a complete jerk if he was a tolerable human being beforehand. While I personally feel that does deserve punishment – perhaps a few months in jail – it strikes me as incredibly wrong that this idiot may see years in the penitentiary while people who try to bring loaded guns on planes aren’t even on the no-fly list for potentially endangering everyone’s lives.
It’s unfortunate the level of insanity that currently exists about people fidgeting with their mask. Apparently, not wearing a mask is worse than rape/murder/theft/vandalism/illegal immigration that destroys the genetic fabric of a country/arson. It’s not rational and not just. Any cop who enforces a mask mandate is committing an abuse. Take jury duty seriously. Vote not guilty for any mask crime.
The government is literally making a federal case out of a guy who drank too much. Apparently, having a pee accident is now a crime. People often drink because they fear flying. It seems burning private businesses and neighborhoods down in antifa riots is ok. Having an accident deserves life in prison.
@Christian
99.99% of people who bring guns to the airport and go through security are those who forget to leave their concealed carry handgun at home since they carry 364 days a year otherwise. They don’t actually try to take guns onboard. They should be denied entry into the gate area and sent home. Of course, government is not rational or sensible.
@Matt
True. It is disgusting that maximums are so high. We should have no trust judges or sentencing guidelines which can be applied arbitrarily and capriciously.
20 years is a great deterrent. I hope he is sentenced to the full 20 years.
You might want to apply for the position of Grand Inquisitor at the Spanish Inquisition …
It’s a Federal Crime under 18 USC 6504, so the maximum sentence is 20 years but it’s a base level 18 offense with no enhancements. He’s looking at 30 months, probably serves 25. He’d have to have used a gun and had 5+ priors to get the full 20 years.
Urinate publicly on a plane and get 20 years. Ransack the US Capital to stop Congress from doung their job and get a slap on the hand and a free pass to leave the country. Dude should have some kind of punishment, but 20 years in prison for a drunk and disorderly behavior seems very wrong. How about mandatory rehab and some real community service? Justice in America needs some improvements.