Businessman Pleads Guilty to Disrupting Flight to L.A.
A Saudi Arabian businessman who was repeatedly told to stop harassing female passengers on a flight from London to Los Angeles pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges of disrupting a flight.
Mohammed Saeid Hejazi, 48, faces deportation and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced Sept. 15, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office.
According to court documents, Hejazi was in the business class section of United Airlines Flight 935 on Jan. 10 when he took off his shoe and put his bare foot on the armrest of the woman’s seat in front of him, touching her arm with his toes.
He then reached behind him and grabbed another female passenger’s knee repeatedly, documents said.
After being told several times to stop bothering the women, the captain told Hejazi to take a seat in the back of the plane. When he refused, crew members escorted him to the back, where he shook one flight attendant, grabbed another and then threatened to kill crew members, court documents show.
He was placed in plastic handcuffs, but used a cigarette lighter to free himself and returned to his business class seat.
The crew had to subdue him two more times before the flight arrived at Los Angeles International Airport, documents show.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
