A Californian woman who was accused of attacking an airport security guard for trying to seize her applesauce as she boarded a plane was fined $2,500 over the incident -- and is refusing to pay, The Glendale News Press reported Wednesday.
Nadine Kay Hays' legal troubles appeared over last month when Glendale Superior Court Judge Frederick R. Rotenberg told Hays that he would dismiss a criminal case against her in six months if she stayed out of trouble.
But last week she received a letter from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) telling her she had to pay a $2,500 fine.
"When I received the letter I just flipped out. I take it very personally given everything else that happened," said Hays.
"Unfortunately, sometimes people in positions of authority are unethical, unprofessional or just downright criminal in their activity. And in that case, if you're in the right, you need to stand up for yourself. And that's what I did in my case -- what they did was wrong, and what I did was right."
In April 2009, Hays had packed the sweet-tasting condiment and other snacks into a cooler to take on board for her elderly mother, myFOXla.com reported.
But when the 58-year-old was told she couldn’t take it on the plane she refused to hand the blue container over -- sparking a "tug-of-war" with a TSA agent at Bob Hope airport in Burbank, Calif.
Hays, who was heading to Nashville for a family wedding with her 93-year-old mother, insisted she had followed procedures and that her mother needed the items for a medical condition.
A TSA spokeswoman told the News Press she could not comment on individual cases due to privacy restrictions, but said the dismissal of a criminal case did not mean the case could not be pursued civilly.
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