Man indicted after attacking TSA, Metro officers at Las Vegas airport
A federal grand jury indicted a man on Tuesday after prosecutors accused him of assaulting Transportation Security Administration officers and attempting to board a plane with a woman’s boarding pass at Harry Reid International Airport.
Federal prosecutors said Jhon Raul Vizcaino Ramirez also attempted to stab Metropolitan Police Department officers with their own pen after they tried to detain him for hitting a TSA officer on Nov. 3, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court on Nov. 20.
The complaint said Vizcaino Ramirez approached security screening of Terminal 1 in Reid International wearing a hooded top and a bandana covering the lower half of his face. He presented the TSA officer with a boarding pass in a woman’s name for a flight to Rochester, New York, prompting the officer to call their supervisor, court documents said.
Two TSA officers responded, with one to translate into Spanish for Vizcaino Ramirez, and requested an identification document from him, court documents said. Vizcaino Ramirez pulled a passport in a plastic bag out of his pocket but refused to give the passport to the TSA officer, according to court documents.
After Vizcaino Ramirez asked for the boarding pass back and the TSA officer refused, the complaint said, he struck the officer in the head and took the officer’s glasses off of his face. Two Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to detain and arrest Vizcaino Ramirez, but he fought the officers, grabbing one of their pens to try and stab them with it, court documents said.
Officers eventually detained and handcuffed Vizcaino Ramirez, court documents said, and police officers took him into custody. One police officer “was injured and sought medical attention” after Vizcaino Ramirez assaulted them, according to the complaint.
The grand jury indicted Vizcaino Ramirez on two counts of interference with security screening personnel, two counts of assaulting a person assisting officers and one count of entering an airport’s secure area on false pretenses. His initial arraignment is set for Dec. 12, according to court documents.
Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.
