A Texas man was arrested after boarding a Delta Air Lines flight in Salt Lake City this Sunday without a ticket by using a photo he took of another passenger’s boarding pass while he wasn’t looking, according to court documents.
Wicliff Yves Fleurizard, 26, faces a charge of stowing away on a vessel or airplane, according to a complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Utah. The complaint alleges that before the flight was boarded at Salt Lake City International Airport, security footage shows Fleurizard taking photos of several passengers’ phones and boarding passes while they weren’t looking and then using his own phone to board the flight to Austin, Texas.
Once on the plane, Fleurizard spent “a significant amount of time” in the bathroom at the front of the plane while other passengers were boarding. He then moved to the rear of the aircraft after boarding was completed. A flight attendant noticed that there were no available seats for Fleurizard and approached him for assistance. It was discovered that Fleurizard had no ticket or reservation for the flight.
The plane returned to the gate and Fleurizard was met by police. He told authorities that he had been in Park City, Utah, for a snowboarding trip and “needed to get home to see his family.” Fleurizard claimed he had booked a Southwest Airlines flight earlier that day but was rescheduled for a later flight due to overbooking.
Fleurizard is currently being held at the Salt Lake County Metropolitan Jail on a federal warrant. Delta Air Lines spokesman Morgan Durrant stated that the airline is cooperating with the investigation.
CNN has not been able to determine whether Fleurizard has obtained legal representation. The investigation is ongoing.
CNN’s Amanda Jackson and Jamiel Lynch contributed to this report.