A 67-year-old Arizona realtor had to be restrained with duct tape after an alleged mid-air tirade on a flight to Newark, according to reports.
Layne Lundeen, 67, worked as a real estate agent in Arizona.
Lundeen told a Maryland judge he threw back two screwdriver cocktails before the alleged outburst, according to The Baltimore Banner.
The vodka and orange juice drinks preceded a disturbance that forced the American Airlines flight to make an emergency landing in Maryland on Sept. 3, according to the report.
The aircraft had departed Dallas, Texas, on its way to Newark. The flight had been airborne for two hours before the disturbance broke out, a passenger told CBS.
Fellow passengers intervened to bind Lundeen to his first-class seat with duct tape and zip-ties, according to the report.
Lundeen also allegedly struck a police officer who dragged him off the plane in Baltimore, police said.
The defendant later lost his job following the mid-air episode. The disturbance reportedly erupted after a conversation with a fellow passenger, according to the report.
Messianic rabbi Jonathan Cahn was seated directly next to Lundeen in the first-class cabin, according to the report.
Cahn said the two had been casually chatting before the conversation turned to religion. Lundeen then snapped suddenly, Cahn said.
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Lundeen allegedly hollered profanities, shouted racial slurs, and started “blaspheming Jesus and God,” according to Cahn.
“I have never seen someone change in a split second from light to dark as I saw then, as if something had taken him over,” Cahn previously said.
“He went from the friendliest guy in the world to this dark person,” Cahn said.
Juan Mejia, a retired law enforcement officer, helped fellow travelers tie Lundeen down during the flight, Mejia told CBS.
Mejia reported that the flight had been underway for two hours before the confrontation escalated. A flight attendant also mentioned serving Lundeen at least one drink, Mejia told the network.
Lundeen later claimed his memory of the flight ended well before the confrontation took place, according to court audio obtained by The Baltimore Banner.
“I don’t remember any of what happened,” Lundeen told a judge in Annapolis, according to the news outlet.
The defendant appeared confused by the criminal allegations read against him during the court proceeding. “I assaulted a police officer? Is that what it says?” Lundeen reportedly said.
“I don’t have my glasses,” he reportedly told the court.
Officers took Lundeen into custody after the plane touched down in Baltimore, police said.
Lundeen was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct, according to court documents.
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