Man sentenced after getting unruly on Frontier flight to Miami, duct-taped to seat
MIAMI – A man who flight attendants duct-taped to a seat onboard a Frontier Airlines flight into Miami from Philadelphia was sentenced Tuesday to 60 days in jail followed by one year of supervised release.
Maxwell Berry must surrender by Aug. 1, exactly one year after his arrest.
A Miami-Dade police report obtained by Local 10 News said the incident started after Berry was drinking alcohol and groped a couple flight attendants’ breasts.
The report said Berry had gone into the airplane’s bathroom after spilling an alcoholic drink on his shirt and then came out of the bathroom “shirtless.” A flight attendant told him to put on a shirt and then helped him get a clean one from his carry-on bag, according to the report.
After walking throughout the plane for “about 15 minutes,” he then “began to get friendly with a second flight attendant, where he proceeded to grope her breasts,” the arrest report stated.
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That flight attendant allegedly told him to sit down and not touch her. According to the report, he then came behind two flight attendants and groped their breasts.
After a male flight attendant asked him “several times to calm down and remain seated,” the report said that he punched the attendant in the face “with a closed fist.” Nearby passengers restrained Berry and he was “taped down to the seat and tied with a seatbelt extender for the remaining flight,” the report stated.
Two of the victims were present during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing — Jordan Galarza, who Berry struck, and Samara Burgess, who was groped by Berry.
They both spoke about how they’ve been affected by the ordeal and told Local 10 News that they feel his sentence is not enough time for what he did, but is still better than nothing.
Berry’s parents also spoke in court, saying their son has always been a star student, athlete and leader, and has been service oriented, but acknowledged that it’s no excuse for what he did.
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They apologized on his behalf and his attorney, Jason Kreiss, read from letters that were sent to the court on Berry’s behalf.
Berry also spoke Tuesday, saying he feels very remorseful and embarrassed by his actions.
Before handing down his sentence, the judge told Berry there’s “no delete button” and people cannot think they’re able to go on a plane and do this.
The judge also acknowledged that flight attendants shouldn’t feel unsafe at their job.
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