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City woman indicted for punching flight attendant

The Associated Press

6:38 PM EDT, July 8, 2008

A Denver grand jury has indicted a New York woman accused of assaulting a flight attendant.

Authorities accuse Christina Elizabeth Szele (ZELL'-ee) of shouting obscenities and racial slurs at a flight attendant who tried to stop her from smoking on the plane to San Francisco. The FBI says JetBlue Airways crew members used plastic handcuffs to restrain the 35-year-old but she broke them and punched a flight attendant in the jaw.

Szele is from Queens. She's free on $10,000 bail. She was indicted Tuesday on three counts, including interfering with a flight and assault involving two flight attendants.

She faces up to 11 years in prison if convicted of the charges.