FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - An Ohio man was charged with battery and was escorted off a flight at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport.
Shawn Levan, 48, was accused of being a problem passenger on a United Airlines flight to South Florida.
He was charged with two counts of simple battery, given a $1,000 bond and is not allowed to travel on any flight until a court order.
On Tuesday, Levan paid his bond and was released from jail
7News spoke with another passenger, Claudia Mondelo who was on the same flight, Saturday.
Claudia Mondelo captured the video of the man, who was escorted off of the flight before deputies took him to the Broward County jail.
Mondelo said Levan had been a less-than-ideal passenger.
“He didn’t want to go back to his seat, he didn’t want to put on his seatbelt, he just wanted to cause a scene,” said Mondelo.
Mondelo said the drama began at the counter in Washington DC, where she was waiting for her Fort Lauderdale flight.
“He was screaming at the ticket counter lady, pretty much everyone heard him because he was extremely loud, so I was surprised when I saw him on the flight,” she said.
Mondelo said during the commotion on the flight, Levan turned his anger on her as he was sitting in an aisle seat directly in front of her.
“He reached back, he was a tall guy with long arms and long hands, he just grabbed me by my leg, where you can see his thumbprint, he reached me and then he would not let it go,” she said. “I was like, stop touching me, leave me, let me go, let go.”
Mondelo said he left her leg bruised, and her pictures show others restrained Levan before the flight landed.
“It should have been prevented, they should not allow people under stress or with symptoms that are going to cause or create a problem, this is really dangerous, he could’ve hurt everybody,” said Mondelo.
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