In case you're not up to date on this story, on February 8 Joe Rickey Hundley allegedly slapped a crying two-year-old during a flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta. Pretty atrocious, right? But it gets worse. Before assaulting the toddler, Hundley reportedly called the boy a nigger.
[The boy's mother Jessica] Bennett, 33, told authorities her son was crying as the Delta Air Lines flight prepared for landing. Hundley, 60, was sitting next to her and slapped the boy in his face, causing a scratch under his right eye, she said.
Hundley "told her to shut that (N-word) baby up," FBI special agent Daron Cheney said in a sworn statement. "Ms. Bennett received assistance from several people on the plane."
The child began crying after he was hit because, well, he'd just been slapped in the face by a racist stranger. According to Bennett, the boy is "now apprehensive to strangers." She also said Hundley "reeked of alcohol" and was "stumbling around wasted."
Last week, Hundley was charged with assault and, according to his attorney, will plead not guilty, which, good luck with that. He won't have to wait until trial for at least one punishment, though; as of Sunday night, Hundley was out of a job.
Joe Rickey Hundley, of Hayden, Idaho, is no longer an employee of AGC Aerospace and Defense, Composites Group, Daniel Keeney of DPK Public Relations confirmed Sunday night.
Al Haase, president and CEO of AGC, released a statement Sunday that didn't refer to the 60-year-old Hundley by name but called reports of an executive's behavior "offensive and disturbing" and said he "is no longer employed with the company."
If convicted, Hundly faces up to a year in jail.