The man who was charged in 2020 for trying to push his way through an Alaska Airlines gate at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, knocking down a gate agent in the process, was convicted Wednesday of felony assault, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced.
A warrant was issued for Mark Alan Hicks’ arrest in May 2021. The incident in August 2020 began when Hicks was told to wear a mask by airport staff.
When Hicks returned with a mask, he was told he was too intoxicated to fly.
“Quite suddenly, the gentleman just decided to go through one of the people, a woman, and essentially walked right through her and over the top of her as she fell down onto the ground and tried to continue on through into the jetbridge,” Airport spokesman Perry Cooper said after watching the surveillance video last summer.
The gate agent was knocked unconscious and had an injured shoulder.
According to the prosecuting attorney’s office, the sentencing range for Hicks was based on an “offender score,” which is higher with each prior felony conviction. Since Hicks had an offender score of zero, his sentencing range was set by state lawmakers at 1 to 3 months.
Based on that, Hicks was sentenced to time served plus 12 months of community custody with the Department of Corrections, meaning he will be under supervision and will have to check in with a probation officer.
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