A Delta passenger, 31, and his friend, 23, who were arrested for opening a cabin door and escaping down the slide with their service dog a...
A Delta passenger, 31, and his friend, 23, who were arrested for opening a cabin door and escaping down the slide with their service dog after he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder were pictured leaving a New York court arm in arm after his arraignment.
Antonio Murdock, 31, from Lakeworth, Florida, was arraigned on charges of criminal mischief in the second degree, reckless endangerment in the second degree and criminal trespass in the third degree in Queens County court Tuesday.
His companion Brianna Greco, 23, also from Florida, was charged with criminal trespass in the third degree.
The duo were arrested after Murdock opened a cabin door and activated the slide on Delta Flight 462 traveling from La Guardia Airport in New York to Atlanta Monday morning.
They changed seats several times before the flight began taxiing out to a runway and Murdock stood up and said he had PTSD, another passenger said.
He ignored the flight attendant's instruction to stay seated and the plane came to a grinding halt when he forced open the door and the pair went down the emergency slide with their service dog Rain.
A source told NY Daily News Murdock told cops his PTSD stems from a jail stint on robbery charges and was triggered by the confined space in the airplane cabin.
Antonio Murdock, 31, was pictured arriving for his arraignment Tuesday morning. Brianna Greco, 23, headed into court hours later
They were pictured leaving court arm in arm after his arraignment Tuesday afternoon with Greco trying to hide her face
Murdock was led into court in handcuffs by Port Authority cops Tuesday morning ahead of his arraignment. Greco then headed into court hours later.
The pair both sported matching hooded sweatshirts reading 'Palm Beach, Florida' for their first court appearances.
On Monday, the couple boarded Delta Flight 462 at LaGuardia which was headed for Atlanta, Georgia.
Flight attendant Kasey Williamson said she saw Murdock and Greco walk through the plane and heard Murdock threaten to 'pop the door', according to court documents.
'I need to get off the plane, I don't want to sit here,' Murdock said, per the documents.
'I'm gonna pop the door, if I don't get off the plane I'm going to sp**z out.'
At this point, Murdock allegedly pushed past the attendant and she saw him open the emergency exit door.
Murdock, the Delta airplane passenger who escaped down a slide with his service dog before it took off because he was allegedly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, arrived for his arraignment in New York Tuesday
Antonio Murdock, 31, was led in handcuffs by Port Authority police officers into Queens County court Tuesday where he will be arraigned on multiple charges over Monday's incident
His companion Brianna Greco, 23, headed into court hours later where she faces a charge of criminal trespass in the third degree
Murdock and Greco (pictured), who the Port Authority said are from Florida, both sported hooded sweatshirts reading 'Palm Beach, Florida' for their first court appearances
Murdock then picked up his dog and used the slide to get off the plane, the documents state.
Greco then allegedly followed Murdock down the slide to exit the plane.
The attendant said she then saw the couple and their dog walk away from the plane on the runway.
Surveillance footage outside the aircraft also captured the moment they slid down the slide onto the runway, the court document states.
The Queens County District Attorney's Office told DailyMail.com they are not releasing the footage.
Murdock and Greco were seen leaving court following Murdock's arraignment before Queens Criminal Court Judge Serita Tuesday afternoon
They both wore face masks and Greco tried to hide her face. Murdock was ordered to next appear in court on February 9
Speaking about the couple, witness Brian Plummer told the New York Times: 'They seemed really nice.'
Plummer said he was sitting toward the back of the plane which wasn't completely full when he noticed them and their large service dog.
Plummer said he saw them change seats several times and that he heard Murdock say he would 'freak out' if he was forced to sit down at the start of the flight because of his PTSD.
'If I sit down, I'll freak out,' Murdock said, according to Plummer.
Murdock in mug from an arrest in September
The attendant told Murdock to sit down twice before he stood up and walked towards the front of the plane as it started to taxi out to a runway, the witness said.
Plummer told the Times he suddenly felt the plane shudder to a halt - which he later learned was because Murdock had forced open the cabin door.
Flight 462 was scheduled to depart shortly before 10am but was returned to the gate.
Delta said there were 106 passengers on the plane at the time and the remaining passengers were 'deplaned normally and were accommodated on alternate flights'.
Maintenance technicians checked over the aircraft and it finally left LaGuardia at 7.17pm, more than nine hours late.
Delta spokesperson Adrian Gee told DailyMail.com the airline 'can't speak to what may have transpired on the aircraft, but we can say this was not a security threat or an on-board emergency.'
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesperson Lenis Valens said: 'This doesn't happen every day at the airport.'
Two passengers escaped a Delta airplane down a slide with their dog before it took off from LaGuardia Airport in New York on Monday after one said he was suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder. Pictured: A Delta plane sits on the tarmac at the airport
Valens said Tuesday morning that Greco had been released while Murdock remained in custody awaiting arraignment.
Rain was taken to Brooklyn Animal shelter and a receipt was given to Greco to pick up the dog.
Murdock and Greco were seen leaving court following Murdock's arraignment before Queens Criminal Court Judge Serita Tuesday afternoon. They both wore face masks and Greco tried to hide her face.
Murdock was ordered to next appear in court on February 9.
Murdock was arrested back in September and charged with possession of a controlled substance and criminal trespass after he allegedly chased a police car into the gated parking lot of a precinct in Arkansas.
The 31-year-old allegedly ran after an officer's car before the officer in the car and others in the lot convinced him to stop.
Murdock was 'speaking very erratically' and told the cops there was someone in his car trying to kill him, according to the Sentinel-Record.
The officers searched his car and found no one inside but did find almost five ounces of marijuana, the arrest warrant said.
Incidents of people opening the cabin doors are rare but not unheard of.
Back in 2010 at Kennedy International Airport, a JetBlue flight attendant activated an emergency slide and slid down it before throwing his tie on the ground and storming away after an apparent altercation with a passenger.
The couple have been put into custody. Remaining passengers were 'deplaned normally' at LaGuardia (pictured) and taken on alternate flights
No comments