Utah man sentenced for threatening woman with razor during flight

Derick Fox
·2 min read
2

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A man from Syracuse, Utah was sentenced on Thursday, Feb. 15 after admitting to carrying a straight edge razor onto a flight and using it to threaten another passenger.

Merrill Darrell Fackrell, 42, was sentenced to serve one year in federal prison and three years of supervised release as a result of his guilty plea.

According to court documents, Fackrell was aboard a JetBlue flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York that was en route to Salt Lake City. Fackrell was reportedly seated in the window seat and talking to the woman seated next to him while her husband was working and watching a movie in the aisle seat.

Sometime after a “long and varied” conversation, the woman put on headphones and began to watch a movie. She told investigators she could hear Fackrell continue to talk to himself but she wasn’t paying attention.

Payson High invites Kevin Bacon for ‘one last dance’ in celebration of “Footloose” 40th anniversary

Fackrell admitted to covering the woman’s screen with his hand and telling her to pause the movie before taking the straight-edge razor out of his carry-on and placing it “inches from her neck.”

Charging documents state Fackrell yelled out that she was going to be ok and no one needed to worry while telling her husband to ‘get the f– out of there. As her husband ran to the front of the plane for help, the woman was able to escape despite Fackrell grabbing her shoulder in an attempt to stop her.

Another passenger on the plane who witnessed the incident was able to convince Fackrell to put the razor down and secure it. That passenger then sat next to Fackrell for the remainder of the flight.

Fackrell admitted in his guilty plea he had consumed “several alcoholic beverages” prior to the incident, according to U.S. Attorney Trina Higgins of the District of Utah.

“Carrying a dangerous weapon on an aircraft is a serious offense,” said Higgins. “No one should be put in harm’s way by another passenger during a flight. In the interest of passenger safety, the individuals who carry a dangerous weapon on an aircraft will be prosecuted.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.