Massachusetts man pleads guilty to attacking a flight attendant with a broken spoon

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BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty Tuesday to attacking a flight attendant with a broken metal spoon and attempting to open an airliner’s emergency door on a cross-country flight.

Francisco Severo Torres, of Leominster, pleaded guilty to one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon in the March 2023 disturbance on United Airlines Flight 2609 from Los Angeles to Boston.

According to prosecutor and witness accounts, Torres went on a midair rant and tried to stab a crew member with a modified metal spoon.

The plane was about 45 minutes from Boston when the crew received an alarm that a side door on the aircraft was disarmed, according to court documents. One flight attendant noticed the door’s locking handle had been moved. Another saw Torres near the door and believed he had moved the handle. Cabin pressure during flight prevents airplane doors from opening.

Torres started loudly rambling that his father was Dracula, that he wanted to be shot so he could be reincarnated and that he would kill everyone on board, another passenger said. He punched a male flight attendant, who felt the metal spoon in Torres’ hand hit him on his shirt collar and tie three times, according to court documents. No one was injured.

Torres was eventually subdued and restrained by other passengers. He was arrested when the flight landed at Boston Logan International Airport, authorities said.

Torres could be sentenced up to life in prison.

A lawyer for Torres could not be reached for comment.

Torres has spent time in mental health facilities, according to court records. The police chief in his hometown said officers have dealt with him several times since 2014, mostly over family issues and mental health episodes.

During one court appearance after his arrest, a federal judge ruled that Torres was not competent to stand trial and that he needed additional treatment. Magistrate Judge Judith Dein based her decision on a mental health evaluation of Torres and her own observations.