KTLA

Mental Health Evaluation Ordered for LAX Stowaway Who Returned to Airport

A 62-year-old repeat stowaway who was arrested at LAX after being ordered to keep away from the airport unless she had an airline ticket was ordered to undergo a detailed mental health evaluation Monday.

Marilyn Hartman appears at the Airport Courthouse on Aug. 11, 2014. (Credit: KTLA)

Marilyn Jean Hartman faced a judge at the Airport Courthouse in Del Aire who granted her attorney’s request for a mental health review. Hartman had been charged with violating her probation, according to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.

She had been arrested on the Thursday morning after being seen wandering through terminals at Los Angeles International Airport on “what appeared to be a scouting mission,” according to Airport Police Chief Patrick Gannon.

Three days before that, Hartman had been arrested at LAX after successfully bypassing security at San Jose International Airport and boarding a Southwest Airlines flight to Los Angeles.

She pleaded no contest to a stowaway charge, and was ordered to stay away from LAX unless ticketed to fly out of the airport. She was also ordered to comply with the terms of her probation in connection with earlier stowaway attempts at San Francisco International Airport.

Speaking to news television cameras outside the courtroom last week, Hartman vowed never to repeat the crime.

“I want to go with a paid ticket. … I want to do everything legal,” Hartman said. “It was clearly wrong on my part. … It was stupid and it is something I don’t want to repeat.”

But well within 24 hours, Hartman was back in police custody at LAX.

She said she lived in a homeless shelter after facing financial trouble.

Her public defender on Monday requested and a judge granted her arraignment postponed until a detailed mental health exam could be completed, according to the City Attorney’s Office.

Her bail was set at $30,000, and she was due to reappear in court on Wednesday.