A 60-year old man is accused of slapping a two-year old toddler across the face after demanding the mother “shut that nigger baby up” while on a flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta. Joe Rickey Hundley of Hayden, Idaho, reportedly was drunk on the February 8 flight, and the boy’s mother, Jessica Bennett, said Hundley “reeked of alcohol” and was “stumbling around wasted,” according to The Smoking Gun:
After Hundley hit the child, Agent Cheney reported, Bennett received assistance from several other passengers, including Todd Wooten, who was in seat 16C. Wooten told agents that he “heard derogatory language coming from the rear of the aircraft†and got up to investigate. “According to Mr. Wooten,†Cheney noted, “he saw Joe Rickey Hundley strike†the toddler.
Bennett told TSG that she believed Hundley was intoxicated when he boarded the plane, adding that he “reeked of alcohol†and was “stumbling around wasted.†Bennett, who was traveling to a family funeral, said that Hundley drank several double vodkas during the two-hour flight and complained to her that her adopted son, seen at left, was too big to be a “lap baby.†Bennett’s Facebook profile photo shows her holding Jonah when he was a baby.
Hundley was charged this week with simple assault, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Atlanta. If convicted of the misdemeanor count, he faces a maximum of one year in prison.
That one year in prison shouldn’t cause too much of a conflict, as Hundley reportedly no longer has his job as the head of an aircraft parts manufacturer.
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Video and image via ABC News
Hat tip: Wonkette