A New York woman has been sentenced to four months in prison for engaging in intimidating behavior aboard a plane, according to the Arizona District Attorney's office.
Kelly Pichardo and her co-defendant Leeza S. Rodriguez were charged with assaulting a passenger during a flight, using racial slurs against a man who asked them to stop and spitting at another person who filmed the altercation in 2021, according to NBC News.
Rodriguez will be sentenced on November 7, 2022.
The women were traveling first class on an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Los Angeles when the disturbance occurred, forcing the pilot to divert the flight and land in Phoenix, according to a press release from federal prosecutors.
Airline Passengers Charged with Interfering with Flight Crew and Assaulting Passengers: Kelly Pichardo, of Bronx, New York, appeared virtually in court on charges that she interfered with a flight crew member and committed simple assault. https://t.co/2U02cfPov1
- FBI Phoenix (@FBIPhoenix) July 22, 2021
In addition to her four-month prison sentence, Richardo has been sentenced to 36 months of supervised release following her prison time, and has been ordered to pay a fine of $9,123.00 to American Airlines, the press release explains.
"There is a line between boorish behavior on an airplane and criminal activity, and the defendant clearly crossed it," United States Attorney Gary Restaino said. "First class passengers are not immune from prosecution: defendant's verbal and physical intimidation disrupted the travel of passengers and crew alike."