Judge grants bond for Orlando airport standoff suspect

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A 26-year-old man who police said was at the center of an hours long standoff Tuesday at Orlando International Airport faced a judge Thursday morning.

The judge raised Michael Pettigrew's bond from $2,500 to $7,500 on an aggravated assault charge, saying he poses an ongoing threat to the community and to uniformed personnel and lacks ties to the community.

His public defender asked Pettigrew to describe to the judge his community ties. Pettigrew said he has lived in Orlando for more than 15 years and that he has been pursuing an associate's degree in science at Valencia College's east campus for the past year.

Watch the full court appearance below:

Pettigrew said he lives with his parents, who pay for his living expenses because he is unemployed and is paying his way through school. He said his mother is a teacher and his father is an avionics technician who works on aircraft electronics.

The judge kept Pettigrew's bond at $7,500 despite the testimony. She stipulated that he not visit the airport, that he not have contact with Mears Transportation employees or visit its offices, that he not contact witnesses and that he surrender any weapons to law enforcement officers within 12 hours of his release should he post bond.

Crisis negotiators convinced him to peacefully surrender more than 2 1/2 hours after the incident began, police said.

Investigators said Pettigrew, who lives 5 miles north of the airport, had no ticket and no plans to travel anywhere.

A friend of Pettigrew called 911 to report that Pettigrew said he was headed to the airport.

"He texted me saying something crazy, like he was going to take a gun to Orlando International Airport," the friend told a dispatcher. "He told me he wasn't planning on shooting anybody but wants to have a cop kill him."

Channel 9 legal analyst Belvin Perry Jr. said mental health counseling will likely be part of any sentence that a judge hands down.

"The judge will take that into consideration -- his mental state at the time -- and (could decide) to give some form of probation after a jail sentence or no jail sentence," Perry said.

Orlando police Chief John Mina said the agency filed paperwork to have Pettigrew held under the Baker Act, which allows for someone to be involuntarily committed for up to 72 hours while a psychological examination is conducted.

Cox Media Group