Joseph Hudek IV, 24, pleaded guilty to felony charges in a Seattle federal court Friday
A Florida man has pleaded guilty to four felony charges after allegedly wielding a wine bottle in a brawl with Delta flight attendants and passengers while trying to open a plane door mid-flight from Seattle to China.
Joseph Hudek IV, 24, entered a guilty plea to one count of interfering with a member of a flight crew and three counts of assault on an aircraft with a potential deadly weapon in a Seattle federal court on Friday, according to The Seattle Times.
The plea came after Hudek filed an affidavit with the court stating that he bought and ingested ‘edible marijuana’ in Seattle just before his flight.
‘Later, while on the airplane and after I had consumed the marijuana, I began to feel dramatically different,’ Hudek said in the document.
The federal charges indicate that Hudek – whose mother worked for Delta – was flying first class on a ‘dependent pass’ on July 6 and became violent when flight attendants tried to stop him from opening the door over the Pacific Ocean.
A fight followed in which Hudek is accused of punching one of the attendants twice in the face, hitting a passenger in the head with a wine bottle and punching him.
A flight attendant grabbed two wine bottles and hit Hudek with both, breaking one over his head.
Hudek was accused of starting a mid-flight brawl with Delta flight attendants and passengers while he attempted to open the aircraft door during a flight from Seattle to China in July
Hudek was flying on a ‘dependent pass’ that came courtesy of his mother, Linda Hudek (right), a Delta customer service and reservation agent. He filed an affidavit stating that he bought and ingested ‘edible marijuana’ in Seattle just before his flight departed
According to a complaint filed by the FBI in Seattle, ‘Hudek did not seem impacted by the breaking of a full liter red wine bottle over his head, and instead shouted, “Do you know who I am?” or words to that effect.’
It took several passengers to restrain him before the plane returned to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, according to a federal complaint.
A flight attendant and a passenger were treated for severe facial injuries.
Hudek’s attorneys had submitted more than 300 letters of recommendation to the court, arguing that he has no history of violence or substance abuse.
Hudek has agreed to pay restitution to the injured passengers in an amount to be determined at his sentencing hearing in May, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He originally faced a felony charge of interfering with a flight crew, which carries a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Hudek’s mother, Linda Hudek, is a customer service representative and reservation agent at Delta, according to her Facebook profile.
Hudek is out on bond and prohibited from flying on aircrafts.