On Wednesday, a man from Massachusetts was charged with assaulting a flight attendant earlier this year with a broken metal spoon and attempting to open an airliner’s emergency door while on a transcontinental journey, according to federal authorities. The indictment was handed out on Wednesday.
In connection with the incident that occurred on March 5 aboard United Airlines Flight 2609 from Los Angeles to Boston, Francisco Severo Torres, a resident of Leominster, was indicted on one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants with a hazardous weapon.
A decision was made in July by a federal judge that Torres was not able to stand trial. This was Torres’s last appearance in court. After conducting a review of Torres’ mental health and drawing on her own experiences in the courtroom, Magistrate Judge Judith Dein came to the conclusion that further treatment is necessary and issued the necessary order.
Attorney General of the United States The attorney who was supposed to be representing Torres in that court appearance, Joshua Hanye, was not reachable for comment.
Torres allegedly went on a rant while the plane was in the air and then tried to stab a member of the crew with a modified metal spoon, as stated by the prosecutor and witness accounts.
According to the records that were filed in court, the crew of the jet was about 45 minutes away from Boston when they received an alarm indicating that a side door on the aircraft was unlocked. One of the flight attendants noticed that the handle that locks the door had been repositioned. Another person observed Torres nearby and speculated that he was the one who turned the door doorknob. When an aeroplane is in flight, the doors are unable to open because of the pressure inside the cabin.
According to another passenger, Torres started making a lot of noise and babbling about how his father was Dracula, how he wanted to be shot so that he could be reincarnated, and how he was going to kill everyone on the plane.
According to the court documents, he punched a male flight attendant, who reported feeling a metal spoon in Torres’ hand hit him three times on his shirt collar and tie. Torres was holding the spoon. Nobody was hurt in the incident.
Torres was ultimately taken down and restrained by the other passengers in the vehicle. According to the officials, he was placed under custody as soon as the plane landed at Logan International Airport in Boston.
Torres may receive a term of up to life in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 if he is found guilty of the charges against him.
According to the court documents, Torres has been admitted to and treated at various mental health facilities. Since 2014, according to the chief of police in his hometown, officers have interacted with him multiple times, most commonly over family matters and episodes related to his mental health.
