Passenger Ordered To Undergo Alcohol Testing, Attend AA Meetings

Another case of passengers acting badly. A Florida high school reading teacher was indicted July 11 by a federal grand jury on a single count of felony interference with a flight attendant and two counts of misdemeanor assault. The charge stems from an altercation aboard a July 10 AirTran flight Wednesday.

Court documents say Valjean Marguriet, 55, assaulted fellow passenger Marsha Johnson by grabbing and shaking her arm. She also allegedly struck flight attendant Marzette Porterfield in the face and interfered with his duties, according to the Associated Press.

The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the eastern District of Virginia. If she is convicted, Marguriet faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for the interference charge and six months imprisonment and fines of $5,000 for each assault charge.

AirTran Flight 904, originating in Atlanta, was fine until about 25 minutes out of the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, according to WVEC Channel 13 News in Virginia.

Then Marguriet began to get agitated for some reason, witnesses say.

"She just started saying, 'You're a man.' I heard her say, 'You're a man. You're a man.' At first I thought it was just play," said fellow passenger Lillian Holmes.

But it wasn't.

Johnson said things got out of hand quickly.

"All of a sudden she just changed her mood and got a little agitated. Then she got real agitated and grabbed me and tried to slap me," she said. "I was trying to keep her calm."

When the physical altercation started, flight attendants intervened and managed to subdue Marguriet. Police were waiting at the gate and witnesses told reporters she had to be dragged off the aircraft.

A Norfolk Federal Court Judge allowed her conditional release and ordered her to pay for alcohol testing, attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings weekly and to undergo mental health counseling.

As far as travel goes, she can travel only in Florida and the eastern part of Virginia for court hearings and cannot board any aircraft until the matter is settled, according to the Associated Press.

She was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond.

FMI: www.nnwairport.com