A Southwest Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Portland after a belligerent man terrorized flight crews and passengers with gang signs, Jesus preaching and screams for booze, federal court records obtained Wednesday show.
The brouhaha began nearly the moment the suspect, identified in the documents as Lemar Sheron Rogers, boarded the plane Tuesday morning in Seattle and claimed he had a first-class ticket.
He didn't. Nor did any of the 43 passengers.
"I do what I want," Rogers replied, the documents show.
He wasn't joking.
Before takeoff, the suspect started pressing the call button above his seat. A flight attendant asked if he had an emergency.
"Yea ... I need a (expletive) drink!" an agitated Rogers snapped, the documents say.
The outburst scared a woman sitting near him. She asked that she and her daughter be moved to different seats, the documents say.
The problems got worse when the plane hit cruising altitude.
When the attendant said he could only have one glass at a time, the man's behavior escalated.
"Get the (expletive) out of my face," he sneered. Then he said, "Jesus loves you," according to documents.
Soon, the suspect was swearing at passengers, flashing gang signs and demanding to speak with the pilot, the documents say.
A flight attendant became so frightened that she asked another passenger to help her restrain Rogers if he became violent, according to court records. Another attendant boiled a pot of water to use against the suspect if he tried to approach the flight deck, the records show.
To ensure the safety of all onboard, the pilot eventually diverted the flight and landed at Portland International Airport, the documents say.
Two Port of Portland police met the plane at the gate and took Rogers into custody. All the while, he rambled incessantly about Jesus, the documents say.
Rogers told authorities he had been smoking "purple hash" before the flight but didn't feel high aboard the plane, court records show.
Rogers claimed any gang signs he "threw up were for Jesus" and that the woman who switched seats did so because he is black, according to the documents.
He was later charged with interfering with flight crew members.
The documents did not say when Rogers is scheduled to appear on the charges. Southwest Airlines could not be reached for comment late Wednesday night.
A spokesman for the Port of Portland referred all questions to the FBI, which is handling the investigation.
-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh