NEW ORLEANS — Airport officials already dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit New Orleans particularly hard, had another matter to deal with last week when a Colorado woman showed up naked and refused to leave, authorities said.
Mariel Vergara, 27, of Pueblo, walked into Louis Armstrong International Airport the night of April 3 completely naked, according to NOLA.com. Witnesses told the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office she strolled up to the Spirit Airlines ticket counter.
Airline workers told Vergara she could not travel that way and asked her to leave, NOLA.com reported. She refused.
By the time a deputy arrived, Vergara had donned a dress, the news site said. She was still cited for violating public decency laws, however, because she was allegedly wearing no underwear, leaving her genital area visible beneath the short dress.
Vergara refused deputies’ commands to leave the airport, authorities said. She fought with them as she was taken into custody, NOLA.com reported.
Jefferson Parish jail records show Vergara was booked early Saturday on charges of obscenity, entering or remaining after being forbidden, resisting an officer, battery of a police officer and simple battery.
While jailed, she was charged Thursday with two additional crimes: resisting an officer by violence and battery of a corrections officer.
Details of those charges were not immediately available, NOLA.com said.
Cox Media Group
