A teen who was arrested for making a false bomb threat aboard a Spirit Airlines flight at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport appeared before a judge Thursday where he claimed the whole thing is a misunderstanding.
The teen was taken into custody by deputies after other passengers told authorities they overheard him making comments of having a bomb on the flight.
Riley Smith, the accused teen, appeared before a judge Thursday.
“There is a zero-tolerance policy regarding any sort of bomb threat on any flight,” the judge said. “We all have to understand how serious this matter was.”
The teen apologized to the judge.
“Your Honor, I just wanted to say that I’m very sorry,” he said.
The flight was scheduled to take off at 2:40 p.m. on Monday to Kansas City, Missouri, but never left after a passenger reported not feeling safe after overhearing a bomb threat.
Authorities arrived and detained three people for questioning, including Smith, while the remaining passengers were escorted off the plane.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies later arrested Smith, accusing him of claiming to have a bomb aboard the flight.
His attorney telling the judge the teen’s comments were never meant as a threat and spiraled out of control once passengers overheard them out of context.
“Things escalated. He is not a danger,” his attorney told the judge.
Some witnesses who sat near Smith and his friends on the flight said he showed some regret immediately after making his comments.
“And I heard his buddy just say, ‘Hey, you can’t say that on a plane’ and by Riley’s gestures, I can tell that he was like, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t believe I just said that,’” said Haley, a witness.
“…Nineteen-year-old kid, I know how they talk. These other people misconstrued it ,” said Erika Ruiz, another witness.
The prosecution argued although the majority of passengers felt safe, two others did not.
“The flight attendant apparently went so far and said, ‘Are you sure that you want to go through with this?’ She said, ‘Yes,’” the prosecutor said in court.
Smith’s attorney argued he’s not a bad kid and has not been in trouble before.
“I think what it boils down to is this, the question is, ‘Is it a threat if you say something extremely inappropriate on a plane?’ but everything seemed to have been taken care of,” Smith’s attorney said.
Prosecutors argued Smith should have known better.
“Everyone knows you do not say ‘bomb’ on an airplane,” the prosecution said. “Regardless of everything else that may have happened with other passengers on the airplane, at least one person felt very uncomfortable.”
In the end, the judge determined Smith’s actions were immature.
“I do believe that if a comment was made, it was made by a very immature 16-year-old minor, joking around with his two friends on the plane with no adult supervision, and I do not believe that there was, and there has not been shown to be any legitimate or real threat,’ the judge said.
Smith, who lives in Missouri, will remain behind bars until Sunday. He will be released into the custody of guardians, who will drive him back to his family in Missouri.
He will have to return to the state for a court appearance set for Aug. 6.