Man Given 2 Years for Diverting Flight
A Southwest Airlines passenger who diverted a San Diego-San Jose flight last January was sentenced to two years in prison Monday in federal court.
Joe Luis Mendez, 35, got out of his seat shortly after takeoff and demanded to be taken to Hollywood or he would start killing people. He was not armed.
Mendez agreed to have the plane land at Burbank Airport after being convinced by the captain that there is no airport in Hollywood. Mendez was arrested without incident when the plane landed.
In exchange for his guilty plea to interfering with a flight crew, the government agreed to drop a more serious charge of air piracy.
U.S. District Judge Audrey B. Collins ordered Mendez to stay on psychiatric medications after his release.
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