Man Slaps Crying Baby On Plane, Then Calls It Racist Epithet [WATCH VIDEO]
A man was accused of using a racial epithet and slapping a baby during a flight to Atlanta from Minneapolis last Friday.
On Feb. 8, Joe Rickey Hundley, 60, supposedly urged a crying toddler's mother to "shut that n****r baby up" before he slapped the 19-month-old across the face on the Delta Airlines flight, according to The Daily Mail.
Hundley was charged with simple assault after the incident took place with Jessica Bennett, 33, and her toddler son Jonah, according to The Smoking Gun.
Click here to see photos of both Hundley and little Jonah:
While Hundley was in seat 28A, he was placed next to Jessica Bennett, who shared seat 28B with her son Jonah, as told by FBI Agent Daron Cheney.
Bennett reportedly told officials that she thought Hundley was inebriated.
Hundley said that he was "distraught" during the flight as he was on his way to see a relative in the hospital, at which time he had an alcoholic beverage.
Bennett was traveling to a family funeral. She said that Hundley had several double vodkas to drink during the two-hour flight and protested to her that baby Jonah was too big to be a "lap baby."
Hundley admitted that he requested that Bennett quiet her child, but also said in an interview that he never hit the 19-month-old nor used any racial epithets.
According to Cheney, Bennett told officials that the plane was in its "final descent" to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport when her child "started to cry due to the altitude change." Bennett added that she "was trying to get [her son] to stop crying, but he continued."
During that time, Hundley used the racial slur while telling her to keep the baby quiet. He then purportedly "turned around and slapped" little Jonah in the face "with an open hand, which caused the juvenile victim to scream even louder," according to Bennett. The slap, Bennett added, "caused a scratch below [the child's] right eye."
In 2007, Hundley was also arrested following a fight with his girlfriend. Initially charged with simple assault, carrying a concealed weapon, and public intoxication, Hundley then pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault at the time. However, Hundley told The Smoking Gun that the supposedly brandished weapon was in fact a wine corkscrew.
