AUSTIN, Texas -- A desperate man who tried hijacking an airplane to Cuba but was overpowered by police told a magistrate Wednesday that he was running for his life when he attempted to commandeer the plane with a fake bomb.
'I took this course out of desperation for fear of my life,' Jose Manuel Gonzalez told the U.S. magistrate while making a court appearance on air piracy and assault charges in the attempted hijacking of an American West jetliner late Tuesday.
'May I admit to it?' Gonzalez asked. 'The facts speak for themselves, your honor. I'm guilty of both those counts.'
But Wednesday's hearing was held only so the defendant could be read the federal charges against him, and it did not call for a plea to be made. He will have to be indicted by a grand jury before he can be formally arraigned and officially enter a plea.
The magistrate set a bond hearing for Jan. 25, and authorities led away the defendant. A lawyer will be appointed for Gonzalez, 39, before the hearing.
Gonzalez said Wednesday that he did not intend to harm anyone aboard the plane and apologized for the assault on flight attendant Stacey Wood, who was tied up and choked during the attempting hijacking.
'She fought bravely,' Gonzalez said. 'I wish to apologize to her and everyone else on the plane. I had no weapons.'
Gonzalez said he had a 'high command' of English and that he has not been under a doctor's care for physical or mental illness. He also said he had $1,100 with him during the hijack attempt but threw the money away because he would not need it in Cuba. The FBI confirmed that cash was recovered from the plane but did not disclose the amount.
Gonzalez, identified by the FBI as a Cuban-born resident of New Orleans, called himself a 'refugee,' even though he has lived in the United States since 1962. 'I have remained a refugee,' he said, claiming that he was being chased 'with the constant threat of being silenced for what I know.'
The 'bomb' Gonzalez admitted carrying on the airplane turned out to be a harmless, makeshift device consisting of a toothpaste dispenser tied to a small, blinking flashlight, authorities said.
Gonzalez boarded America West Flight 727 that departed Houston for Las Vegas, Nev., at about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday. Once in flight, authorities said, he tied up the attendant and demanded to be flown to Cuba.
Daphne Dicino, an airline spokeswoman, said 'the captain informed passengers he had to stop in Austin for fuel. The captain quickly notified the proper authorities of the incident and told them he planned to divert the plane to Austin.'
Shortly after passengers fled from the jet, several Austin police officers boarded the aircraft and subdued the suspect following a brief struggle. As officers entered the jet's cabin, they said the suspect was choking the flight attendant, who had been tied up in the rear of the craft.
Gonzalez was also charged by Austin police with aggravated kidnapping, Deputy Chief Ken Williams said at a news conference.
Two flight attendants were admitted to St. David's Hospital, one for injuries received when she was tied up and choked by the hijacker and another for coffee burns, a hospital spokesman said. Gonzalez was treated at Brackenridge Hospital for head lacerations, Williams said.
As he was led handcuffed to a waiting police car, Gonzalez told reporters the hijacking attempt was politically motivated. 'I feel threatened... because of my political opinions,' he said. 'I feel this country is in peril.'
Williams said 'the only thing that he asked for was to be flown back to Cuba. He felt he was being persecuted here, that someone was after him.'
Williams said Gonzalez was carrying a substance that could be a drug and that police were awaiting test results before filing additional charges.
