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Back in January, I wrote about 53-year-old, Florida resident, Keith Charles Owens. He faced up to 10 years in prison for assaulting a gate agent at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Owens pleaded guilty to interfering with security personnel, according to the US Department of Justice (DOJ). Security footage at the airport showed Owens “repeatedly punch the gate agent in the head.” He had his day in court, was found guilty, and was sentenced to four months in federal prison.
Here is what led to this crazy scene. Owens arrived at Gate A36 last October 4th and was informed that his flight had moved to Gate A35. Owens allegedly cursed and walked away. The gate agent at A36 radioed to A35 to warn that Owens was on his way. The DOJ said Owens walked onto the jet bridge without scanning his boarding pass and was removed by airline personnel from the jet bridge, but was allowed to remain in the airport.
NBC 5 reported at the time that he made his way back to Gate A36 and began “yelling at the gate agent, grabbed him by the shoulders, and punched him repeatedly in the face and neck. Eventually, airline personnel were able to restrain him,” according to the DOJ. The gate agent and another person who intervened sustained minor injuries while the flight was delayed. A criminal complaint was filed in November 2024 and Owens pleaded guilty in January.
CBS News 11 is now reporting that Acting US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad Meacham announced that Owens was made to pay nearly $6,000 in restitution and will serve four months in a federal prison before three years of supervised release. This is far more lenient than the potential 10 years in prison he faced.
Anthony’s Take: Luckily, the gate agent and the other individual who intervened only sustained minor injuries. Owens was reportedly intoxicated and hopefully he learns something while spending time in prison.
(Image Credits: Surveillance Footage Provided by US Department of Justice and DFW Airport.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.