An international traveler has pleaded guilty to a federal crime after he was accused of assaulting a police K9 at Dulles International Airport, kicking it so hard it went airborne.
According to an affidavit from a federal air marshal, Hamed Aly Marie allegedly attacked the Customs and Border Protection K9, named Freddy, as it was helping screen luggage Tuesday at a baggage claim area where EgyptAir Flight 981 luggage was being deposited after arriving at the Washington, D.C., area airport.
Freddy, a beagle "trained to find illicit agricultural contraband," was helping with screening in the baggage claim area when he "alerted to a piece of luggage" and tried to inspect it further, the affidavit said. Marie, the owner of the luggage, came over to the dog and an agent and started talking to the agent, according to the affidavit.
"Shortly after the conversation began, Marie kicked K9 Freddy. K9 Freddy was kicked so hard that he was lifted off of the ground. K9 Freddy was injured and was taken to the veterinary emergency room," the affidavit said.
Marie was arrested Wednesday. He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Virginia to a federal criminal count of malicious assault on a police animal and has been sentenced to probation and $840 in restitution, according to a court docket update. The court ruled that if Marie remains in the U.S. beyond this week, he must return to court next Wednesday for additional probation conditions.
The charging document does not specify Marie's country of origin, but the court reports that an interpreter had been secured for him.
Scott MacFarlane is CBS News' Justice correspondent. He has covered Washington for two decades, earning 20 Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards. His reporting has resulted directly in the passage of five new laws.
