Prosecutor: Unruly passenger tried to kill himself

[May 18, 2011]  ST. LOUIS (AP) -- An affidavit filed in federal court in St. Louis alleges that an Illinois man tried to open the door of a passenger jet to commit suicide.

Thirty-four-year-old Reynel Alcaide of Burbank, Ill., faces federal charges, including interfering with a flight crew, for the incident on May 8. Alcaide was on a Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Chicago when he allegedly tried to open the jet door. The flight was diverted to St. Louis.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that during a hearing on Monday, a federal prosecutor said Alcaide had tried to commit suicide before.

A judge postponed a decision on setting bail and ordered a psychiatric exam. Alcaide's attorney, public defender Felicia Jones, asked that he be treated in a hospital rather than a jail.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com/

[Associated Press]

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