LITTLE ROCK -- A Texas woman who pleaded guilty to involvement in an altercation aboard a Southwest Airlines flight in which a flight attendant's jaw was broken was sentenced Thursday to five years on federal probation by a judge who questioned why the woman was not charged with a felony.
Brenda Marie Aquino-Washington, 22, of El Paso, pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor count of assault in maritime and territorial jurisdiction, for which she could have received a maximum prison term of one year and a fine of $100,000. Instead, U.S. District Judge Brian Miller elected to sentence Aquino to the maximum statutory term of five years on probation -- drawing an objection from Aquino's attorney because the sentence exceeded the maximum three-year probation term recommended by the U.S. sentencing guidelines -- and a fine of $250, which is one-half the low-end guideline range recommendation of $500 to $9,500.
According to court records, on Jan. 9, 2021, Little Rock police responded to the Little Rock National Airport after being notified of an unruly passenger onboard a domestic flight. Upon arrival, police were told that Aquino-Washington, while onboard the flight from Nashville, Tenn. to San Antonio, Texas, removed her face mask several times and became combative when told to put it back on. Witnesses said Aquino-Washington tossed food in a flight attendant's face, then repeatedly punched her in the face until another flight attendant was able to subdue her and put her in restraints until the plane could land.
Aquino-Washington's attorney, KenDrell Collins with the Federal Public Defenders Office in Little Rock, described his client's actions that day as being brought on by what he said was later diagnosed as having bipolar disorder that she is now being treated for.
"She's been doing well," Collins said. "She's been working consistently, living her own life and doing all of the things she's supposed to do. I think this is just a situation where probation will be appropriate."
"So your argument is this is a mental health event and the first time it happened?" asked Miller. "It's not like she was on notice this could happen and she went on the plane anyway?"
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Bryant said her office had struggled with how to charge the offense given the nature and circumstances of the defendant as having had a mental health crisis coupled with the nature of the injuries suffered by the flight attendant, which include constant pain and partial paralysis of her jaw. Bryant did not ask for jail time for Aquino-Washington but instead asked for the statutory maximum of five years probation.
"That way we can be assured she is getting mental health treatment," Bryant said.
Aquino-Washington, who appeared via video-conference from her home in El Paso, read from a prepared statement to say she was "deeply sorry for the actions I did before my diagnosis."