What started as a dust-up over a carry-on bag ended with three women from Philadelphia in handcuffs and a Frontier jet emptied out at Miami International Airport on Sunday night. Deputies say the confrontation at the gate triggered an evacuation of the plane and delayed the flight for about an hour before officers removed the passengers and took them into custody. The women were later processed at a county booking facility.
Gate Dispute Ends In Arrests, Deputies Say
According to Local 10, the women were identified as 30-year-old Nafisa Dockery, 26-year-old Davana Cochran and 21-year-old Dionjana Cochran. They were at the gate for Frontier flight F9-1204 when airline employees told deputies the passengers' boarding passes had been denied and their tickets canceled.
Deputies say the group refused to pay for a carry-on bag and ignored repeated instructions to leave the area, which Frontier staff described as trespassing. The arrest report cited by Local 10 states that the dispute prompted law enforcement to evacuate the plane, after which the women were taken into custody and booked on charges that include resisting arrest and trespass after warning.
What Arrest Report Says Happened On The Jetway
"We don't have to listen; let's just go," Dockery told the other women, according to the arrest report quoted by Local 10. The report also alleges Dockery spat on a Frontier employee while leaving the jetway and says a "brief struggle" broke out as deputies tried to place the three women under arrest.
Flight Route And Booking Details
Flight F9-1204 is a regular Frontier route between Miami and Philadelphia, according to the tracker at FlightStats, which lists the late-night Miami departure for March 29. The service operates overnight from MIA to PHL.
County booking records show the three women were processed at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, which serves as Miami-Dade County's main booking and release facility. The Miami-Dade inmate search provides additional details on the facility and intake.
What The Charges Mean Under Florida Law
Officials say the women were booked on counts of resisting arrest and trespass after warning, and Dockery faces an additional battery charge, according to the arrest report. Under Florida law, simple battery is defined in Florida Senate materials under Statute 784.03 and is typically a first-degree misdemeanor that can carry up to one year in county jail.
Resisting an officer without violence is outlined under Chapter 843, referenced by Justia, and trespass after warning appears in Statute 810.09 in the Florida Senate code. Both offenses are generally treated as misdemeanors, although penalties can increase under aggravated circumstances.
Prosecutors could still decide what formal charges to file as the case moves through the court system, and bond and court dates are set after the booking process. Miami-Dade deputies had not released further details, and Frontier did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
