BOSTON, MA (AP) -- A Massachusetts court official has denied an application to charge a New York man accused of slapping a male flight attendant on a JetBlue flight from Florida.
Massachusetts State Police say 48-year-old Bryan Garnett, of Utica, N.Y., was taken into custody at Boston's Logan International Airport when the flight from West Palm Beach landed Tuesday morning.
An East Boston District Court clerk later determined that the encounter occurred while the aircraft was on the ground in Florida. The clerk says Massachusetts has no jurisdiction to charge Garnett with interfering with a flight crew and assault and battery.
Suffolk County prosecutors say JetBlue will have to pursue the matter in Florida. A JetBlue spokeswoman says the airline wasn't aware of the decision.
A message was left Tuesday at a telephone listing for Garnett.
Original story from Tuesday afternoon:
An upstate New York man has been arrested at Boston's Logan International Airport after allegedly slapping a male flight attendant on a JetBlue flight from Florida.
Massachusetts State Police say 48-year-old Bryan Garnett of Utica, New York was taken into custody Tuesday when the flight from West Palm Beach landed about 10:30 a.m.
Garnett is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in East Boston District Court on charges of interfering with a flight crew and assault and battery.
The Boston Globe reported that one of its reporters on the plane said a flight attendant asked Garnett to put his bag beneath the seat before the plane took off, but there was no obvious commotion during the flight.
A message was left Tuesday at a telephone listing for Garnett.
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