United States v. Zachary Ziba ( 2016 )

Case: 15-10873 Document: 00513539837 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/08/2016
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
No. 15-10873 FILED
June 8, 2016
Lyle W. Cayce
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Clerk
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
ZACHARY MARSHALL ZIBA,
Defendant - Appellant
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas
USDC No. 2:15-CR-9-1
Before REAVLEY, HAYNES, and HIGGINSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
The judgment of the district court is affirmed, supported clearly by the
law and evidence.
Defendant Zachary Ziba caused the Southwest flight from Denver to
Dallas to divert and land at Amarillo. He refused to stay in his seat and obey
the instructions of the veteran flight attendant. He was belligerent, shouting
loudly with obscenity, and said people would be sorry and what the attendant
* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH
CIR. R. 47.5.4.
Case: 15-10873 Document: 00513539837 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/08/2016
No. 15-10873
reasonably understood to be threats to the safety of the aircraft and
passengers.
Defendant was charged with the crime of intimidating a flight attendant
to interfere with the performance of the attendant’s duties. 49 U.S.C.A.
§ 46504. A jury found him guilty.
Defendant’s defense is that he did not knowingly interfere or intend to
threaten. He argues that he was not guilty of either general or specific intent.
He relies on Elonis v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2001 (2015) where the Court
required specific intent to transmit in interstate commerce “any
communication containing any threat … to injure the person of another.” The
mental state required there is not in the crime here. The Fifth Circuit has held
that Art. 46504 is a crime of general intent where conduct can prove guilt.
United States v. Hicks, 980 F.2d 963 (5th Cir. 1992). This defendant was well
aware of his conduct and talk, interfering with the crews and attendants and
requiring the flight to be diverted.
AFFIRMED.
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