by Boston (AP) A Massachusetts man was given a 26-month prison sentence on Tuesday for trying to open an airliner’s emergency door while on a cross-country flight and stabbing a flight attendant in the neck with a broken metal spoon.
Leominster resident Francisco Severo Torres entered a guilty plea in May to one count of attempting to use a deadly weapon to interfere with flight crew and attendants during the March 2023 disturbance on United Airlines Flight 2609 from Los Angeles to Boston.
Torres was sentenced to time served, which was little more than two years, by U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris. Additionally, he will be forbidden from operating a commercial aircraft for five years while on supervised release.
Witness and prosecutor testimonies claim that Torres attempted to attack a crew member with a modified metal spoon during an airborne tirade.
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According to court records, the crew was alerted that a side door on the airplane had been disarmed approximately forty-five minutes away from Boston. A flight attendant saw that the locking handle on the door had been relocated. Another thought Torres had moved the handle after spotting him close to the door. During flight, airplane doors cannot open due to cabin pressure.
According to one passenger, Torres began babbling loudly that his father was Dracula, that he would kill everyone on board, and that he wanted to be shot so he could be reincarnated. According to court documents, he attacked a male flight attendant three times on his shirt collar and tie after the flight attendant felt the metal spoon in Torres’ hand strike him. There were no injuries.
Other passengers eventually managed to subdue and confine Torres. According to authorities, he was taken into custody when the plane touched down at Boston Logan International Airport.
Torres’s attorney was not available for comment.
Court documents show that Torres has been in mental health facilities. Since 2014, officers have dealt with him multiple times, primarily about family matters and mental health episodes, according to the police chief in his hometown.
A federal judge determined that Torres required more therapy and was not able to stand trial during one court appearance following his detention. Based on her own observations and a mental health assessment of Torres, Magistrate Judge Judith Dein made her ruling.
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