CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A P.E.I. man who threatened to punch a flight attendant and said he had a bomb on a plane was sentenced Tuesday to 30 days in jail.
Joseph Robert Weir appeared before Judge John Douglas in provincial court in Charlottetown for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to causing a disturbance and uttering a threat.
Before delivering the sentence, Douglas said people can’t make comments like Weir did on the plane.
“Good people often do stupid things and this was very stupid,” Douglas said.
Weir was travelling to Winnipeg on Nov. 30, 2017 when a flight attendant told him he was going to be de-planed after other passengers complained he was drunk and disruptive.
He threatened to punch the flight attendant and when she asked him which bag was his, Weir told her it was the one with the bomb in it.
There was no bomb.
Weir admitted to police he was drunk and the court heard he struggled with addiction issues.
Defence lawyer Alex Dalton told the court Weir was working three weeks on, one week off in northern Manitoba at the time.
Weir didn’t intend for his comments to come off as they did, Dalton said.
“He’s learned from this quite a bit.”
Dalton said the real issue is substance abuse and Weir has sought treatment since returning to P.E.I.
“He’s really just looking to put this behind him today, your honour,” Dalton said.
Weir also rose to address the court before hearing his sentence.
“Things have changed,” he said.
Douglas said in determining a sentence, he didn’t think specific deterrence for Weir was as big a factor as general deterrence for the public.
“You’ve learned your lesson,” Douglas said.
Along with the jail time, Weir will be on probation for one year, during which time he must undergo counselling or treatment as directed.
Weir must also write an apology letter to Air Canada.
