Idaho man in court on slap charge

An Idaho man charged with slapping a toddler on a Minneapolis-to-Atlanta flight made an initial appearance in federal court Tuesday.

Joe Rickey Hundley, 60, surrendered to federal agents and then stood before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mikel H. Williams, who appeared via video at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

Hundley, of Hayden, was released by the magistrate on a $10,000 unsecured bond. As conditions of his release, Hundley cannot drink alcohol or possess firearms and must surrender his passport. He cannot travel outside of Idaho, Eastern Washington, or the northern district of Georgia, where the case will be tried.

Hundley is accused of slapping the 19-month-old boy during a Feb. 8 Delta Air Lines flight. Hundley has been charged in Atlanta with simple assault. His attorney says he will plead not guilty. The charge carries a maximum penalty of a year in prison if Hundley is convicted.

Hundley was president of Unitech Composites and Structures, an aerospace company in Hayden. But he was fired last weekend by Unitech’s parent company because of the in-flight incident.