Man pleads guilty to attacking flight attendant

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man has pleaded guilty to assaulting a flight attendant during a trip from Washington, D.C., to Jacksonville, Florida.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Jacksonville reports in a news release that 36-year-old Joseph Michael Sharkey of Virginia entered his plea Tuesday. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Court documents say Sharkey was on a JetBlue flight Jan. 31 when he verbally assaulted another passenger and then placed that passenger in a headlock. The complaint says Sharkey then fought with two flight attendants and attempted to leave the plane through an exit door before he could be restrained. He was kept in flex cuffs for the rest of the flight.

The plane landed safely in Jacksonville, and airport police arrested Sharkey.