Author Name: BoingBoing
This story was originally published on Boingboing.net. [1]

United passenger tried to bite off ear of seatmate
Date: 2021-03-19 00:00:00

When John Yurkovich (45) boarded a United flight from Newark, New Jersey to Miami, he probably didn't expect he'd be landing in North Carolina instead, facedown on the floor with his hands tied behind his back and his shirt pulled over his head. That's what happens to people who try to bite off the ears of their seatmates, I suppose.

The victim said in a police report that he was sitting next to Yurkovich, who "seemed very agitated" and was bouncing in his seat. Yurkovich asked a flight attendant for water, then took what looked to be pills from his luggage. The pills didn't calm Yurkovich down. If anything, they made him even more agitated. He began to "scream and thrash around," the report says.

From there, things took a turn for the worse.

Live 5 WCSC reports:

The victim said he held his arm up to protect himself from being struck and said the man struck him with a closed fist on the right side of his face causing his glasses to break. Witnesses and other passengers then intervened to restrain the man, the report states. A second victim said the man struck him and may have caused a broken nose. Police talked to a third victim who said he was punched in the head as well. A passenger on the plane who identified himself as a physician told police he administered a shot of Benadryl to the man's buttocks to help sedate him.

Yurkovich was charged with possession of methamphetamine. At his court hearing he told the judge the police have it all wrong. "It's not what they say it is. That's a special kind of . . . it's a cat tranquilizer actually. It's not what they're saying it is," he said.

According to Live 5 WCSC, Yurkovich is a branch manager for Nations Lending. I've heard of lenders to like to talk people's ears off, but biting them off seems like an overly assertive sales tactic. Here's a video welcoming him to the company.

Yurkovich is being held in $50,000 bond.

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