Paris Hilton’s younger brother faces the possibility of a six-month federal jail sentence today for causing a disruption aboard an international flight last summer.
Conrad Hilton, 21, pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanor count of “simple assault” stemming from a meltdown aboard a British Airways flight from London to Los Angeles last July 31.
An enraged Hilton was restrained and handcuffed by flight attendants after an outburst in which he called fellow passengers “peasants” and accused the crew of “taking the peasants’ side,” according to an affidavit written by an FBI agent who investigated the disturbance.
During the nearly 11-hour flight, Hilton physically threatened two flight attendants and smoked marijuana and cigarettes in an airplane lavatory, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Schwab said.
Hilton “intentionally used a display of force” against the attendants, Schwab told U.S. Magistrate Judge Suzanne H. Segal during the plea hearing.
The Hilton heir told the judge he was seeing a psychiatrist/drug counselor weekly since the incident; had attended four rehab programs, including a “dual-diagnosis program”; entered “psych wards”; and was taking medication for the “psychotic breakdown.” According to the affidavit, Hilton — who was flying business class — told the co-pilot, “If you wanna square up to me bro, then bring it on and I will … fight you.”
Witnesses heard Hilton mumbling to himself, then yelling obscenities and threatening crew members, the affidavit states.
Hilton — grandson of hotel billionaire Conrad Hilton — began punching the bulkhead of the plane close to an attendant’s face, according to the affidavit.
When Hilton fell asleep, “the captain authorized crew members to restrain him to his seat for the descent and he was ultimately handcuffed to his seat,” according to the document.
Hilton’s lawyer, Robert Shapiro, said his client has suffered a bad reaction to a sleeping pill, which caused his behavior on the flight. Along with the possible jail term, the assault count also carries a penalty of a year of supervised release and a $5,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Hilton was arrested in a separate case last August after a high-speed chase that ended with his 2013 BMW colliding with a car and a big rig near Cathedral City, leaving him with a broken hand. He was charged with felony reckless driving and evasion of a police officer, and is expected in Riverside Superior Court in Indio July 14. He could be sentenced to three years behind bars if found guilty of all the charges in the case, officials said.
