Massachusetts man sentenced to 26 months for attacking a flight attendant with a broken spoon
Steve LeBlanc/AP
FILE - This booking photo provided by Massachusetts State Police on March 7, 2023, shows Francisco Severo Torres. (Massachusetts State Police via AP, File)
AP
BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man was sentenced Tuesday to 26 months in prison for attempting to stab a flight attendant in the neck with a broken metal spoon and trying to open an airliner's emergency door on a cross-country flight.
Francisco Severo Torres, of Leominster, pleaded guilty in May to one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon in the March 2023 disturbance on United Airlines Flight 2609 from Los Angeles to Boston.
U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris sentenced Torres to time served, which was just over 2 years. He also will be on supervised release for five years, during which he is prohibited from flying on a commercial aircraft.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
According to prosecutor and witness accounts, Torres went on a midair rant and tried to stab a crew member with a modified metal spoon.
The plane was about 45 minutes from Boston when the crew received an alarm that a side door on the aircraft was disarmed, according to court documents. One flight attendant noticed the door's locking handle had been moved. Another saw Torres near the door and believed he had moved the handle. Cabin pressure during flight prevents airplane doors from opening.
Torres started loudly rambling that his father was Dracula, that he wanted to be shot so he could be reincarnated and that he would kill everyone on board, one passenger said. He punched a male flight attendant, who felt the metal spoon in Torres' hand hit him on his shirt collar and tie three times, according to court documents. No one was injured.
Torres was eventually subdued and restrained by other passengers. He was arrested when the flight landed at Boston Logan International Airport, authorities said.
A lawyer for Torres could not be reached for comment.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Torres has spent time in mental health facilities, according to court records. The police chief in his hometown said officers have dealt with him several times since 2014, mostly over family issues and mental health episodes.
During one court appearance after his arrest, a federal judge ruled that Torres was not competent to stand trial and that he needed additional treatment. Magistrate Judge Judith Dein based her decision on a mental health evaluation of Torres and her own observations.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
24 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
8 are missing, including an Irish missionary, after gunmen storm a Haiti orphanage
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Eight people, including an Irish missionary and a 3-year-old child, remained missing on Monday after gunmen stormed an orphanage in Haiti, the latest attack in an area controlled by a powerful collection of armed gangs. Authorities scrambled to relocate dozens of children and staff from the Saint-Hélène orphanage, run by Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs, an international charity with offices in Mexico and France. The orphanage cares for more than 240 children, according to its website. No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack early on Sunday. The area is controlled by a gang federation known as ' Viv Ansanm,' which the United States this year designated a foreign terrorist organization. Among those abducted was Gena Heraty, an Irish missionary who has worked in Haiti since 1993 and oversaw the orphanage's special needs program for children and adults. She was assaulted in 2013 when suspects broke into the orphanage and killed her colleague, according to Irish media. Her family issued a statement saying they were 'absolutely devastated' by Sunday's kidnappings: 'The situation is evolving and deeply worrying." Sunday marked the latest high-profile kidnapping involving a foreign missionary. In 2021, the 400 Mawozo gang kidnapped 17 missionaries, including five children, from a U.S.-based organization in Ganthier, east of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The majority were held captive for 61 days. Sunday's kidnapping took place in Kenscoff, a once peaceful community in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. The doors to the orphanage remained closed on Monday as Haiti's Institute of Social Welfare and Research worked with UNICEF to identify sites where children and employees could be relocated. The lush green and incredibly steep mountains where the orphanage is located has been under attack by heavily armed gangs since January. The latest attack over the weekend forced farmers in the area to flee. 'We can't work,' said 41-year-old farmer Sala Désire, who fled his home and carried a small oven up a mountain as he gathered his belongings and prepared for a 30-minute trek uphill. Joceline Souffrant, 52, said she would follow him shortly. 'Everyone is running,' she said. 'We can't say in the area because of the shooting.' Simon Harris, Ireland's deputy prime minister, said in a statement that the kidnappings of Heraty and the others were 'deeply worrying," and called for their immediate release. In a past interview with the Irish Independent newspaper, Heraty recalled being threatened with death when suspects broke into the orphanage in 2013. 'They were quite aggressive. One had a hammer, one had a gun,' she said. Heraty said her colleague was killed with a hammer after he rushed to help her and others. 'The last place you would expect a violent death to happen in Haiti would be in a house with special-needs people," she said. "Life is just not fair. We know that. We just have to accept it.' At least 175 people in Haiti were reported kidnapped from April to the end of June of this year, with 37% of those cases occurring in Port-au-Prince. The United Nations said a majority of those kidnappings were blamed on the Grand Ravine and Village de Dieu gangs, which form part of the Viv Ansanm federation.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs' latest bid for bail denied as judge rules he can't go home to await sentencing
Sean 'Diddy' Combs can't go home from jail to await sentencing on his prostitution-related conviction, a judge said Monday, denying the rap and style mogul's latest bid for bail. Combs has been behind bars since his September arrest. He faced federal charges of coercing girlfriends into having drug-fueled sex marathons with male sex workers while he watched and filmed them. He was acquitted last month of the top charges — racketeering and sex trafficking — while being convicted of two counts of a prostitution-related offense. Advertisement 4 Combs has been behind bars since his September arrest. REUTERS In denying Combs' $50 million bond proposal, Judge Arun Subramanian said the hip hop impresario had failed to prove that he did not pose a risk of flight or danger, adding that the record did not show an 'exceptional circumstance' that would justify his release after a conviction that otherwise requires detention. Combs' arguments 'might have traction in a case that didn't involve evidence of violence, coercion, or subjugation in connection with the acts of prostitution at issue, but the record here contains evidence of all three,' the judge wrote. Advertisement 4 He was acquitted last month of the top charges — racketeering and sex trafficking — while being convicted of two counts of a prostitution-related offense. REUTERS Messages seeking comment were sent to prosecutors and one of Combs' lawyers. The conviction carries the potential for up to 10 years in prison. But there are complicated federal guidelines for calculating sentences in any given case, and prosecutors and Combs' lawyers disagree substantially on how the guidelines come out for his case. The guidelines aren't mandatory, and Subramanian will have wide latitude in deciding Combs' punishment. Advertisement 4 The conviction carries the potential for up to 10 years in prison. REUTERS The Bad Boy Records founder, now 55, was for decades a protean figure in pop culture. A Grammy-winning hip hop artist and entrepreneur with a flair for finding and launching big talents, he presided over a business empire that ranged from fashion to reality TV. Prosecutors claimed he used his fame, wealth and violence to force and manipulate two now-ex-girlfriends into days-long, drugged-up sexual performances he called 'freak-offs' or 'hotel nights.' His lawyers argued that the government tried to criminalize consensual, if unconventional, sexual tastes that played out in complicated relationships. The defense acknowledged that Combs had violent outbursts but said nothing he did came amounted to the crimes with which he was charged. Advertisement 4 Prosecutors claimed he used his fame, wealth and violence to force and manipulate two now-ex-girlfriends. AP Since the verdict, his lawyers have repeatedly renewed their efforts to get him out on bail until his sentencing, set for October. They have argued that the acquittals undercut the rationale for holding him, and they have pointed to other people who were released before sentencing on similar convictions. Defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo suggested in a court filing that Combs was the United States' 'only person in jail for hiring adult male escorts for him and his girlfriend.' The defense's most recent proposal included the $50 million bond, plus travel restrictions, and expressed openness to adding on house arrest at his Miami home, electronic monitoring, private security guards and other requirements. Prosecutors opposed releasing Combs. They wrote that his 'extensive history of violence — and his continued attempt to minimize his recent violent conduct — demonstrates his dangerousness and that he is not amendable to supervision.'
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Texas Gov. Abbott orders arrest of Democrats who skipped town to avoid redistricting vote
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state authorities Monday to arrest dozens of House Democrats who fled to Illinois rather than stay for a vote on redrawing the state's congressional map. 'Texas House Democrats abandoned their duty to Texans,' Abbott said in a statement. 'By fleeing the state, Texas House Democrats are holding hostage critical legislation to aid flood victims and advance property tax relief. There are consequences for dereliction of duty. 3 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state authorities to arrest dozens of House Democrats who fled. AP 3 Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu along with other members of the Texas House are joined by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker as they speak about Texas Republican plans to redraw the House map office during a press conference at the Democratic Party of DuPage County office in Carol Stream, IL on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025. AP 3 Democratic lawmakers from Texas arrive for a news conference with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, after leaving their state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to redraw the state's 38 congressional districts, in Carol Stream, Illinois, U.S. August 3, 2025. REUTERS 'Speaker Dustin Burrows just issued a call of the Texas House and issued warrants to compel members to return to the chamber. To ensure compliance, I ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans. This order will remain in effect until all missing Democrat House members are accounted for and brought to the Texas Capitol.' This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.
