Mentally-ill Man Held after Sneaking Past Security at JFK, Boarding Flights Without a Ticket

A Maryland man with a history of mental illness was ordered held without bail March 16 on charges he boarded a jetliner at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York without a ticket. The suspect, 30, of Chevy Chase, breached security in Terminals 2 and 4 before managing to board a Delta flight bound for San Francisco, California February 24, according to the complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court. The plane was taxiing to the runway when flight attendants noticed the man did not have a seat and all the rows were filled with passengers, a police detective with the Port Authority of New York New Jersey stated. When the plane returned to the gate, the suspect admitted he stole a boarding pass from the Delta ticket counter to get through Terminal 2, then bypassed the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint in Terminal 4 by sliding behind a removable partition, the detective stated. Earlier in the day, the man had also tried to board a Virgin American flight and another Delta flight without a ticket. A Brooklyn magistrate noted the suspect had a history for petty crimes all over the country when he was supposed to be receiving psychiatric treatment.