A Charlottetown man who got drunk, made a joke about a bomb in his luggage and threatened to punch a flight attendant while being removed from a plane in Winnipeg in November 2017 was sentenced to 30 days in jail April 16 in Prince Edward Island, CBC reported.
Joseph Robert Weir, 37, had been working in Northern Manitoba at the time and had been drinking too much during a week off, said his lawyer, adding that he is now receiving treatment for alcoholism.
Weir, who pleaded guilty, had been drinking before boarding a flight at the Winnipeg airport and became abusive after getting on the plane, threatening to punch a flight attendant. When flight staff approached Weir to remove him from the plane, he said his carry-on bag was “the one with the bomb in it.” Police were called and Weir, who continued to shout and swear at people inside the airport terminal, was arrested.
His trial was originally scheduled to be held in Manitoba but he failed to attend and left the province. A court order preventing Weir from flying has now been lifted and his lawyer told the court Weir wants to continue working in Western Canada after he serves his jail term.
