Out of jail on charges of attacking flight attendant, he gets engaged

The day Michael Kerr got out of jail after being being charged with drunkenly attacking the crew of a inbound Charlotte flight, he apparently got engaged.

Next week, the Lexington, Ky., man will be back in a Charlotte courtroom on whether he’ll be allowed to remain free.

The 30-year-old Kerr, who says on his Facebook page that he is a chef in a Lexington restaurant, has been charged with interfering with the performance or duties of the flight crew and attendants.

The actual details are more revealing than the charge. An FBI affidavit said it took the pilots and multiple Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers to drag Kerr off the plane last Thursday night after he threatened, shoved, kicked and spat at several flight attendants as American Airlines flight 5039 from Lexington taxied to the gate at Charlotte Douglas International.

Kerr had three Jack Daniel’s whiskeys on the hour-long trip and refused an attendant’s order to stay in his seat until the plane stopped, the affidavit says. Kerr threatened to break her jaw, the FBI alleges, and matters escalated from there until the pilots wrestled Kerr to the ground, tying off his kicking legs with a seat belt.

Records indicate that Kerr spent the night at the Mecklenburg County Jail and was released last Friday. His Facebook page announced his engagement the same day.

The Facebook page also says Kerr is a chef at Portofino’s, a upscale Lexington restaurant. Owner Wayne Masterman told Janet Patton, the food and restaurant writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader, that Kerry is an entry-level prep cook who has worked at Portofino’s since May.

Kerr made his initial appearance in federal court Wednesday. He will return Monday morning for a detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Keesler.

This story was originally published July 28, 2016 at 10:49 AM with the headline "Out of jail on charges of attacking flight attendant, he gets engaged."