Trial over airport applesauce tussel moved to Pasadena

DOWNTOWN — The case against a 58-year-old Camarillo woman charged with assaulting a federal security agent who tried to take her ailing mother’s applesauce and other snacks at Bob Hope Airport last year was moved to a Pasadena courtroom Monday.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Applegate on Monday said he was ready to move ahead with the trial of Nadine Kay Hays, who was charged with misdemeanor battery after the reported tussle with the Transportation Security Administration last April.

Her attorney, Mary Frances Prevost, requested that the case be moved from Burbank to another courtroom after a back-and-forth with Applegate.

“I won’t subject my client to an unfair judge who refuses to protect her rights,” Prevost said.

Hays has denied striking the agent, arguing that she merely brought down her hand to keep agents from taking away her 93-year-old mother’s applesauce, cheese and milk. Her mother has since died.

Prosecutors on Monday indicated that they’ve lined up several witnesses to take the stand in what is expected to be a five-day trial. They objected to “derogatory remarks” made to the media and assertions made in court filings.