{"id":609715,"date":"2026-09-08T15:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T15:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/609715\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T15:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T15:12:10","slug":"us-real-estate-agent-duct-taped-and-zip-tied-to-plane-seat-after-racial-slurs-is-fired-us-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/609715\/","title":{"rendered":"US real estate agent duct-taped and zip-tied to plane seat after \u2018racial slurs\u2019 is fired | US crime"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Arizona<\/a> realty company says it is \u201cno longer associated\u201d with an agent who was recently arrested after alleged unruly behavior \u2013 including racist and homophobic slurs \u2013 on an airline flight led to his being zip-tied, duct-taped to his seat and arrested.<\/p>\n

Layne Arthur Lundeen, 67, faces counts of disorderly conduct and second-degree assault in the case, according to Maryland court records filed after he was taken into custody at Baltimore<\/a>\u2019s airport on 3 September.<\/p>\n

Two fellow passengers who helped detain Lundeen later gave<\/a> an interview to ABC News which described how he acted belligerently and hurled \u201cracial slurs\u201d on an American Airlines flight that took off from Dallas, which drew widespread attention. And one of them provided a photograph of Lundeen restrained with duct tape and zip ties in a plane seat that went viral online.<\/p>\n

That set the stage for Tucson\u2019s Long Realty Company, where Lundeen listed himself as a vice-president, broker and realtor, to issue a statement on Monday on social media saying it had \u201cended its affiliation\u201d with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe individual is no longer associated with or authorized to represent Long Realty in any capacity,\u201d the company\u2019s statement said<\/a>. \u201cThe conduct described in the reports is wholly inconsistent with the professionalism, integrity, compassion, and respect for others that Long Realty expects from those affiliated with the company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundeen on Tuesday did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Long Realty\u2019s statement or what authorities are portraying as the latest high-profile case of misbehavior \u2013 often criminal \u2013 colloquially referred to as air rage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

American Airlines said in a statement issued to media outlets that flight 618 was traveling from Dallas Fort Worth international airport to Newark Liberty international airport on 3 September when there was a \u201cdisruptive\u201d passenger about two hours into the trip.<\/p>\n

The plane was diverted and made an emergency landing at Baltimore\/Washington International Thurgood Marshall airport at about 10.15pm, and the passenger was arrested there, officials said.<\/p>\n

Court records showed Maryland<\/a> transportation authority police arrested Lundeen at the airport that day and booked him with two misdemeanors. He was released the next day on his own recognizance \u2013 meaning without having to post a bond.<\/p>\n

Yet the matter did not end there for Lundeen. Another traveler on the diverted flight, former law enforcement officer Juan Mejia, spoke with ABC on 4 September and recounted how the man identified as Lundeen had \u201cmade derogatory remarks to the staff of American Airlines and other passengers \u2013 racial slurs, vulgar language, very offensive to the women\u201d sitting in his vicinity.<\/p>\n

The New York Post, citing police, reported<\/a> that Lundeen also spouted anti-gay insults.<\/p>\n

Mejia and a friend accompanying him, Richard Olenick, told ABC that they intervened when Lundeen made the situation physical.<\/p>\n

\u201cJuan immediately knew that action had to be taken,\u201d Olenick said to ABC. \u201cHe got up right away and jumped in the seat right next to the passenger and began working on restraining him in order to keep the situation contained.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olenick also supplied photos of Lundeen bound to a window seat with duct tape and zip ties.<\/p>\n

In short order, Lundeen\u2019s links to Long Realty surfaced, and the company spent part of the Labor Day holiday on Monday announcing it had severed its relationship with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect those associated with our company to uphold those values, and we have no tolerance for conduct that so clearly falls short of those expectations,\u201d said the company\u2019s statement, which did not name Lundeen. \u201cOur focus remains on serving our clients and community in accordance with our values.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur thoughts are with the passengers, crew members and others affected by this incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundeen as of Tuesday was tentatively scheduled to be in court in Glen Burnie, Maryland, on 19 October in connection with his arrest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Arizona realty company says it is \u201cno longer associated\u201d with an agent who was recently arrested after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":609716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[114,85,46],"class_list":["post-609715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/609716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}