A Denver man accused of binding the hands of a teenage girl with athletic tape on a Southwest Airlines flight from San Diego to Denver told investigators he had been drinking and that it was “all in good fun.”
Ezra James Wallace, 29, was arrested by FBI agents Tuesday and charged with assault in U.S. District Court in Denver. Wallace will be able to enter a plea in the case during a court appearance tomorrow.
According to an FBI affidavit, the incident happened Aug. 1. The arrest was delayed because of “investigative work,” said Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado. Dorschner declined to elaborate.
The affidavit said Wallace was in a window seat on the plane and that two sisters were in the row's other two seats. Before the plane took off, Wallace took pictures of the 9-year-old girl seated in the aisle seat. She covered her face to try to block the photos. During the flight, Wallace grabbed the hands of her 16-year-old sister in the middle seat and bound them tightly with athletic tape.
The teenager told authorities she was “scared and began to freak out.” When she asked the man what he was doing, he responded with what she described as a “creepy laugh,” the affidavit said.
The teen was able to get the tape off with the help of her sister and her brother sitting behind her.
Wallace tried to bind the younger girl's hands, then threw the tape at them. A flight attendant intervened and moved the girls to another row, the affidavit said.
It was unclear whether the incident was reported immediately to law enforcement. Wallace was not met by police at the airport's gate and was allowed to leave, Dorschner said. An FBI agent contacted him about two weeks later.
Wallace told investigators he drank about a half-pint of vodka before the incident, and that it was “all in good fun,” the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
According to The Denver Post, Wallace's father said his son was flying back to Denver after visiting his sister, a Navy officer in San Diego.
Doug Wallace, who was in court for his son's appearance, said his son has never been in trouble but “drinks more than he should” and “made a boneheaded decision.”
