A man who boarded a plane from Denmark to Los Angeles without a ticket, visa or passport was sentenced Tuesday to 93 days and ordered to pay $2,174, the cost of a one-way ticket from Copenhagen to Los Angeles, officials said.
But prosecutors and defense attorneys have not yet been able to explain why he did it.
Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava, 46, who court records show has a doctorate and no known criminal record, bypassed Copenhagen airport security and hid on a plane for a more than 12-hour flight on Nov. 4. .
According to prosecutors, Ochigava entered a controlled-access terminal at Copenhagen Airport on Nov. 3 by following another traveler and simply imitating the motion of scanning a pass. When officials discovered him, they ordered him to remain in an area of the terminal while his visa overstay was resolved.
Instead, according to court records, on Nov. 4, Ochigava followed a surge of passengers at one of the gates, walked toward Scandinavian Airlines Flight SK 931 and took one of the empty seats without attracting attention.
The first time Ochigava, who had Russian and Israeli passports, was questioned about his presence was when he attempted to enter the business class section of the plane, according to court records. The flight attendants questioned Ochigava about his seat, but he turned around and sat in one of the empty economy class seats.
According to court records, Ochigava sat in different seats, ordered two in-flight meals and also attempted to take a cabin crew member's chocolate bar during the flight.
Once he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport, Ochigava continued trying to evade officials.
According to court documents, he told U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials that he had forgotten his passport on the plane.
When asked to provide officials with his flight and personal information to search for him, Ochigava gave the false name “Sergey Schlomo,” according to court records.
It was after agents were able to search Ochigava's phone and find a Russian document with her name on it that they realized she had boarded the international flight and arrived in Los Angeles without a ticket or passport.
Federal prosecutors had sought a six-month prison sentence, arguing that Ochigava had “shown no remorse or contrition for his conduct.”
But Ochigava's lawyers asked U.S. District Judge George H. Wu for a sentence of time served, arguing that the defendant had been detained since Nov. 4 and had experienced a series of “personal tragedies.” In consideration of his sentencing, friends and family had shared with the judge letters detailing what they said were “personal difficulties” Ochigava had recently suffered, but the letters were submitted under seal.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office said it was unclear why Ochigava boarded the plane bound for Los Angeles.
His lawyers also said Ochigava had no known criminal record.
On Tuesday, Wu sentenced Ochigava to time served, but court records also indicate he will be detained for deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Ochigava was also ordered to pay $2,174 in restitution to Scandanavian Airlines. His lawyers had objected to the restitution payment, pointing out that about a third of the seats in economy class, where Ochigava sat, were empty anyway.
