Two intoxicated sisters from New Jersey allegedly assaulted a Frontier Airlines gate agent after being removed from their flight at a Florida airport, as shown in bodycam footage released on Wednesday.
Kiera Lyons, 22, and Maura Flores, 31, were arrested on May 15 for causing a ruckus and being intoxicated on their flight bound for the Garden State at Orlando International Airport.
Bodycam footage captured an Orlando police officer approaching the airline employee who was found seated on the floor of the jetbridge after the purported attack.
The gate agent reported, “First, the shorter one pushed me, and then her sister, the bigger one, pushed me right after.”
The victim detailed to the officer that she had been instructed to contact her supervisor and the police as the sisters refused to leave the aircraft while “screaming” and creating a scene.
Eventually, both sisters complied and were escorted up the jetbridge.
As they departed, the victim claimed that Lyons verbally assaulted the flight crew, getting into her personal space and shouting, “F–k you, you fat bitch.”
<pThe victim remembered, "I said, ‘Thank you.’ When she was facing me, she pushed me and then turned around, and her sister came up and shoved me again,” which caused her to stumble over something on the floor.
A flight attendant corroborated her account, stating that both women had indeed pushed the victim.
Outside the jetbridge, footage revealed the New Jersey sisters attempting to explain their version of events to additional officers in the terminal.
Lyons, who expressed feelings of “anxiety and depression” and was hyperventilating during the encounter, told police she was feeling unwell in the restroom when asked to vacate the plane by a flight attendant.
Flores remarked that the flight attendant inquired if her sister was “intoxicated,” to which she confessed, “Yeah, I had a few drinks.”
Lyons further alleged the situation escalated when a male employee allegedly touched her chest, which disturbed both sisters. She even demonstrated the action by pushing the officer’s chest.
“I had a couple of drinks, but I’m literally supposed to walk for graduation [tomorrow],” Lyons can be heard sobbing to the officers. “I’m a Division III athlete. It just sucks.”
Lyons is a former field hockey player from Stockton University in Galloway Township, currently working as a trainer in New Jersey. Flores is a mother of two from Manahawkin, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Shortly after, footage shows Lyons being placed in handcuffs, further agitating her older sister.
Start your day with all you need to know
Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos, and more.
Thanks for signing up!
“You are not handcuffing my sister,” Flores yelled as Lyons was detained. “I’m calling my lawyer right now.”
Flores attempted to escape but was grabbed by an officer and also handcuffed.
“Are you kidding me?” Flores exclaimed. “You believe that girl?”
Footage then captures both sisters arguing with the officers while inside a police vehicle.
“Can you at least take the cuffs off while I am in the car?” Maura requested. “I’m not a criminal.”
A female officer was overheard telling the pair to reserve their “energy to argue in court,” as the video concluded.
Both sisters were charged with first-degree battery and disorderly conduct in the second degree for allegedly attacking the gate agent, as outlined in a filing from Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit acquired by People.
The airline employee reportedly sustained “minor injuries” from the shoving incident.
On September 17, the sisters’ cases were closed and referred to a pre-trial intervention (PTI) program, as reported by the outlet.
A PTI program is designed to reroute minors and nonviolent defendants away from prosecutions. These programs typically include aspects that aim to educate and rehabilitate individuals, according to the Florida law firm Bogin, Munns & Munns.
“Once the program is completed successfully, criminal charges against the defendant are dismissed.”
With contributions from Post wires
