Man sentenced to federal prison for attacking flight attendant during flight to Pensacola
A Virginia man was sentenced to a year in federal prison after attacking a flight attendant and opening the main cabin door during a flight into Pensacola.
Last week, Kameron C. Stone, 30, of Fairfax, Virginia, was sentenced to one year in federal prison for interfering with a flight crew and assault by striking and wounding in special aircraft jurisdiction after pleading guilty Feb. 8.
The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
On April 16, 2021, Stone boarded a flight departing from Dulles International Airport in Virginia bound for Pensacola International Airport. During the flight, passengers noticed Stone was behaving obnoxiously and smelled strongly of alcohol.
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A flight attendant warned Stone on several occasions about his behavior, which included pretending to shoot at passengers, refusing to remain seated or wear a seatbelt and reaching for the cockpit door.
As the flight began its final descent, Stone approached the front of the aircraft and tried to open the cabin and cockpit doors. A flight attendant attempted to prevent Stone from opening the doors and, as a result, Stone pushed her, grabbed her shoulders and shoved her into the galley wall, injuring her in the process. During the altercation, Stone successfully breached the main cabin door to the external portion of the plane, triggering the alarm and causing the pilots to declare an emergency with the Federal Aviation Administration.
The flight attendant prevented Stone from fully opening the door while three passengers, including an off-duty deputy U.S. marshal, subdued Stone until landing.
Stone's prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release. The court ordered Stone to pay all civil penalties assessed by the Transportation Security Administration, as well as a fine of $7,500.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Pensacola Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer H. Callahan prosecuted the case. Stone was represented by attorney Derrick Smith, according to court records.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Airline passenger who disrupted flight to Pensacola airport sentenced
