California woman who punched Southwest flight attendant has sentencing delayed by DUI
A Sacramento-area woman convicted after punching a Southwest flight attendant was cited for drunk driving less than two weeks after a federal court accepted her guilty plea, delaying her sentencing, which had originally been set for this month.
Prosecutors said the defendant blamed her DUI on a recent gastric bypass surgery.
Vyvianna M. Quinonez, 28, of Antelope agreed in December to plead guilty to a charge of interfering with a Southwest Airlines flight attendant.
The charge stemmed from an altercation during a May 23 flight that departed from Sacramento International Airport, shortly before the plane landed at San Diego International Airport.
Quinonez punched a flight attendant who had asked her to fasten her seat belt, stow her tray table and wear her face mask properly, prosecutors said.
She “admitted that she stood up and assaulted the flight attendant by punching her in the face and head with a closed fist and grabbing her hair,” according to a December news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego.
Quinonez reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, and the court accepted her guilty plea on Jan. 7. She was scheduled to be sentenced in March.
Recent court filings, first reported by the Law and Crime Network, show Quinonez was cited by California Highway Patrol officers on Jan. 16 for driving under the influence of alcohol.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of California in late January issued a bench warrant for Quinonez for violating the conditions of her pre-sentencing bond, court filings show.
The US. Marshals Service served the warrant and arrested Quinonez on Feb. 15 in Sacramento.
Federal prosecutors filed an appeal of the pre-sentencing bond the following day. According to the appeal filing, CHP officers pulled over Quinonez, who was driving a black Chevrolet Camaro that was weaving and swerving. Prosecutors did not specify where the DUI incident occurred.
Quinonez claimed she had been arguing on the phone with her boyfriend, and told officers that she had a couple of drinks, according to the filing.
“She claims that her high blood alcohol level is due to gastric bypass surgery,” prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote in the filing. “However, Defendant told pretrial services that her doctor informed her that ‘if she drinks alcohol, her blood alcohol concentration may rise abnormally due to the small size of her stomach.’
“Given this warning by her doctor, Defendant should have been especially careful about the possibility of driving while intoxicated.”
Judge Todd Robinson granted the appeal and denied Quinonez’s release, and her sentencing hearing was rescheduled to May 27.
The judge ordered Quinonez to remain in custody until then. She remains in the custody of the Marshals Service pending transport back to San Diego, where she will remain in detention.
Prosecutors said Quinonez faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for her attack on the Southwest flight attendant.
Witness video provided to The Sacramento Bee showed Quinonez punching the female flight attendant in the side of the face. Other passengers then rushed to restrain her. Port of San Diego Harbor Police escorted Quinonez off the plane before it taxied to the gate.
Quinonez was initially charged in federal court last September with one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and one count of interfering with a flight crew, both felonies.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the attendant suffered several injuries to her face, including three chipped teeth, two of which were replaced by crowns. She also suffered bruises and a cut that required stitches.
A few days after the assault, Southwest Airlines said it had banned Quinonez for life.
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 12:18 PM.
