FBI: Man Took 'Shrooms, Then Had Quite a Trippy Flight

Cherruy Loghan Sevilla is accused of assaulting crew, breaking into bathroom on United plane
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 10, 2022 8:56 AM CDT
FBI: Man Took 'Shrooms, Then Had Quite a Trippy Flight
In this Nov. 18, 2020, file photo, a United Airlines plane lands at King County International Airport-Boeing Field in Seattle.   (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

There are bad trips, and then there are bad drug trips, and may never the two converge. For one man on a United Airlines flight last week, however, that's apparently what happened, and he's now facing charges of assault and interfering with flight crew. An affidavit filed in the Eastern District of Virginia reveals the details of what allegedly happened during the flight last Tuesday from Miami to DC, when Cherruy Loghan Sevilla is accused of causing a commotion halfway into the journey, reports NBC News. Per the affidavit, Sevilla started wandering around the plane about an hour into the flight, "running up and down the aisle, clapping loudly near the cockpit, and yelling obscenities."

He's then accused of snapping a "small plastic piece" off the lavatory door and flinging it open while another passenger was using the facilities, as well as getting in other passengers' faces, all the while with a grin on his own. One dad said he had to have his and his daughter's seats moved after Sevilla allegedly grabbed his daughter's arm. From there, the flight crew tried to manage the situation, asking Sevilla to sit back down—only for him to lie down on the floor and refuse to get up, per the affidavit. Other passengers, additional crew members, and a law enforcement official who happened to be flying that day finally intervened when Sevilla allegedly grabbed and twisted the breast of a flight attendant. He also twisted the arm of another flight attendant during the scuffle.

He was finally handcuffed and subdued, though he "continued to scream and yell incoherent things" the rest of the way to DC, where the FBI came on board to arrest him. Sevilla told agents in a later interview that before the flight, he'd taken psilocybin, which the Seattle Times notes is the hallucinogenic main ingredient in magic mushrooms. "Sevilla said that he was not totally surprised that he acted this way after consuming it," the affidavit stated, noting that Sevilla also apologized for his actions. He was released on his own personal recognizance and is set to appear in court on Thursday. "We'd like to thank our crew for handling this difficult situation with professionalism," United Airlines said in a statement, adding: "We also followed up with our crew members to make sure they were OK." (More United Airlines stories.)

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