Accused Plane Hijacker to Be Held Without Bail

The man accused of hijacking a Southwest Airlines flight that had to make an emergency landing in Burbank last week was ordered held without bail in federal court Tuesday.

U.S. Magistrate James W. McMahon ruled defendant Joe Luis Mendez, 34, a flight risk and a danger to the community, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office.

Although the results of Mendez’s psychiatric evaluation, conducted over the weekend, were not discussed in court, the judge said Mendez suffers from bipolar syndrome and has a history of an “unstable mental situation,” according to Mrozek.

The defendant’s court-appointed attorney, Paul Horgan, would not comment on the case.

Charged with one count of federal air piracy, Mendez faces a mandatory penalty of 20 years in federal prison if convicted.

He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Jan. 28 and will enter a plea Feb. 1.

On Jan. 12, Mendez boarded Southwest Airlines Flight 923 in San Diego, bound for San Jose, where he lives. After the plane took off, he allegedly told a flight attendant that the captain should fly the plane to Hollywood “or else [Mendez] would start killing people,” according to documents filed in U.S. District Court.

Attempting to appease Mendez, the flight crew made an unscheduled emergency landing at Burbank Airport, where he was arrested.