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Plea deal possible for man accused of slipping past airport security, assaulting man

Posted at 6:40 PM, May 02, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-02 20:41:17-04

SALT LAKE CITY – A man who police say slipped by TSA agents at Salt Lake International Airport before assaulting a man in late March made his first appearance in court Thursday.

Victor Cossio waived his right to a preliminary hearing because a plea deal is on the table, according to his attorney Nick Falcone.

Police say Cossio managed to get passed TSA agents on a busy Saturday night on March 30. That's when they said he attacked a man and when he was taken into custody, they found several boarding passes, none of which belonged to him.

Despite a seemingly serious crime, the U.S. Attorney has declined to press federal charges.

"It's a relief to my client as well as myself. Yes, they’re declining to file federal charges so we’ll be able to deal with our local district attorneys office and get this handled here," Falcone said.

During Cossio's initial appearance, Falcone told the judge that a deal is on the table in which Cossio would plead guilty to a second-degree felony robbery charge and all of the other charges would be dismissed.

"The state has presented us with an offer. It seemed to be a reasonable one for us to consider; that’s why we waived the preliminary hearing today," Falcone said.

Falcone also said they're still considering taking the plea deal, but haven't discussed any of the specific details about the crime or whether Cossio feels any remorse.

"Not really. Haven’t gotten into any of those kind of details at this time," he said.

The lawyer from the District Attorney's Office told the judge that the victim, who lives out of state, is aware of the deal and satisfied with the potential punishment.

Cossio will be back in court on May 20.

If he pleads guilty to a second-degree robbery charge, he would face one-to-15 years in prison, at a minimum.