Jul 21, 2008 5:11 pm US/Pacific
Woman Pleads Guilty To Bogus Hijacking Call To LAX
LOS ANGELES
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A woman who pleaded guilty Monday to making a fake hijacking report to LAX security could face up five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. (File)
MGN
A woman accused of phoning in a bogus hijacking report on a flight taking a man from Los Angeles to his wedding in Egypt pleaded guilty Monday to violating the federal false information and hoaxes law.
Susan Monica Kriss, 24, entered her plea before U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper, who set a sentencing date of March 9. John Passanante, Kriss' attorney, asked Cooper for a late sentencing date so his client could complete her paralegal education.
She faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, but it's unlikely her punishment will be that severe.
In her plea agreement with the government, Kriss admitted violating the law by calling the Department of Airports Police Dispatch Center at LAX on Aug. 30, 2007, and falsely telling them that Essam Anwar Beshara would use chemical to hijack an Egypt-bound flight the following day.
Kriss, who is being treated for a mental illness, also told LAX police that Beshara would use his family members, who were to be his co-passengers, as hostages, court papers state.
Although airport police believed the call to be a hoax, airline company personnel took no chances and barred Beshara and his family from the flight, Passanante told the court Monday. They were forced to purchase same-day tickets, costing them more than $14,000 in the process, according to court documents.
Beshara is a former friend of Kriss', whom she believed at one time to be her boyfriend, prosecutors said.
Kriss was indicted in February while she was in state custody on stalking charges.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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