A Texas man has been handed a felony sentence after illegally boarding a Delta Airlines flight and hiding himself away in the bathroom. Wicliff Yves Fleurizard, 27, of Leander, got caught in his wild attempt to sneak onto a flight last year, and now he's facing the music with time served, a stint on supervised release, and a financial penalty to boot, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Fleurizard was not just trying to get a free ride, his tactics included taking pictures of unsuspecting passengers' boarding passes and personal information to concoct his illicit entry onto the aircraft. This gamble earned Fleurizard about six months behind bars, a place where he's had time to surely contemplate his various charges, including that of being a stowaway. His conviction also comes with three years of supervised release and a $5,000 fine to pay, as imposed by U.S. District Court Judge David Barlow.
The incident unfolded on March 17, 2024, when Fleurizard boarded Delta Airlines flight #1683 from Salt Lake City International Airport, bound for Austin, Texas. His pre-flight activities didn't go unnoticed, he had been spotted on surveillance capturing photos to fraudulently obtain electronic boarding passes. This lapse in airport security later had authorities stressing the importance of maintaining and strengthening airport safety measures.
