Man Slaps 19-month old on Delta Flight and Calls Him The N-Word

[RyFo18]

Joe Rickey Hundley, AGC Aerospace & Defense ex-worker, turns himself in after Delta flight debacle
Posted: 02/20/2013

By: CNN Staff
An Idaho man accused of uttering a racial slur and slapping a crying 19-month-old boy on a Delta Air Lines flight turned himself in to authorities Tuesday.

Joe Rickey Hundley of Hayden, Idaho, surrendered in that state, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta. He was charged with assaulting a minor, stemming from a February 8 incident aboard the Delta flight to Atlanta.

Hundley was released on bail.

His attorney, Marcia Shein, has said her client is being unfairly portrayed.

"This has escalated into a racist issue and I want to be clear he is not a racist," Shein said.

She also said that Hundley is dealing with unspecified issues.

According to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta last week, the boy's mother, Jessica Bennett, 33, of Minnesota and her son were seated in Row 28, Seat B on Delta Flight 721 that originated in Minneapolis.

She spent part of the flight in the rear of the plane to get away from Hundley, who she said smelled like alcohol and was slurring his speech, according to John Thompson, the attorney for the child's family.

As the plane began its descent into Atlanta, the boy began to cry because of the altitude change and his mother tried to soothe him.

Hundley, who was seated next to the mother and son, allegedly told her to "shut that (N-word) baby up."

Hundley then turned around and slapped the child in the face with an open hand, which caused him to scream even louder, an FBI affidavit said.

The boy suffered a scratch below his right eye.

Other passengers on the plane assisted Bennett, and one of them heard the slur and witnessed the alleged assault, the affidavit said.

Shein said that even if her client did use the slur, it does not make him a racist.

CNN's MaryLynn Ryan, Ric Ward and Michael Martinez contributed to this report.

Source

[Garcia Bronco]

This is how ****ed up we are....

The guy slapped a baby and we're really concerned about what he said when he did.

I don't want to be on this planet anymore.

[Easy 6]

Welcome to a week ago...

[Lumpy]

Yeahhhhhh... I'm pretty damn sure that I would have decked the guy had he done that to my child.

[loochy]

[KChiefer]

Originally Posted by Garcia Bronco

This is how ****ed up we are....

The guy slapped a baby and we're really concerned about what he said when he did.

I don't want to be on this planet anymore.

So they should just omit the n-word part of the story???

[Nightfyre]

So wait, she left the 19 month old alone so she could get away from this guy during the flight? Obviously, his behavior is unacceptable and he should be charged. But damned if that isn't some pretty terrible parenting.

[RyFo18]

Originally Posted by Nightfyre

So wait, she left the 19 month old alone so she could get away from this guy during the flight? Obviously, his behavior is unacceptable and he should be charged. But damned if that isn't some pretty terrible parenting.

I don't think it ever said that. It just said she sat in the rear. I'm sure she took her kid with her.

[Nightfyre]

Originally Posted by RyFo18

I don't think it ever said that. It just said she sat in the rear. I'm sure she took her kid with her.

I would hope so.

[loochy]

Originally Posted by RyFo18

I don't think it ever said that. It just said she sat in the rear. I'm sure she took her kid with her.

Oh, so black people have to sit at the BACK of the plane?

Rosa is rolling over in her grave.

[KChiefer]

Originally Posted by Nightfyre

So wait, she left the 19 month old alone so she could get away from this guy during the flight? Obviously, his behavior is unacceptable and he should be charged. But damned if that isn't some pretty terrible parenting.

Pretty sure she took the baby with her or had someone else holding him. Way to try to shift blame onto the mother though.

[BlackHelicopters]

No excuse for ever hitting someone else's kid.

[RyFo18]

Originally Posted by loochy

Oh, so black people have to sit at the BACK of the plane?

Rosa is rolling over in her grave.

The mother was white. Baby was adopted...I can't tell if you're projecting anger in this post or not...

[Nightfyre]

Originally Posted by KChiefer

Pretty sure she took the baby with her or had someone else holding him. Way to try to shift blame onto the mother though.

At what point did I shift the blame? You can't hit a baby under any circumstances.

[loochy]

Originally Posted by RyFo18

The mother was white. Baby was adopted...I can't tell if you're projecting anger in this post or not...

Actually I was trolling