EXCLUSIVE: 'Intoxicated' 43-year-old son of British billionaire Lord Ashcroft was hauled off an American Airlines flight in handcuffs and arrested after forcing pilots to abandon takeoff from Dallas - after an earlier DUI arrest in Florida
The son of British billionaire Lord Ashcroft was hauled off an American Airlines flight in handcuffs and arrested for public intoxication after forcing pilots to abandon takeoff in 2019, according to a police report obtained.
Cops said Andrew Ashcroft could barely walk, reeked of alcohol and when asked by cops how many drinks he had consumed, replied: 'Napping'.
The 43-year-old hotelier also told officers he was in Belize despite the aircraft having just returned to Terminal One at Dallas -Fort Worth International Airport so he could be booted from the flight.
Ashcroft was taken to jail but no further action appears to have been taken, according to a January 2019 arrest report obtained.
The boozy incident is one of two incidents Ashcroft's ex, Jasmine Hartin, is expected to raise in family court proceedings that kicked off this week in Belize City to determine who should have custody of their young twins Charlie and Ellie, four.
Ashcroft, whose father is key financial backer of the UK's ruling Conservative Party, says his former partner is an unfit mother because of her 'immoral habits' and her involvement in the accidental shooting death of Superintendent Henry Jemmott, a senior Belizean police officer.
Last month, Hartin filmed on her cell phone as she confronted Andrew at the Alaia hotel. 'Why won't you let me see the kids Andrew? Why won't you let me see the children?' she says as she chased him in the hotel kitchen
Ashcroft claimed that Hartin's 'main occupation is attending and socializing and she is addicted to non-prescribed and illegal drugs and is a habitual drunkard'
'Her main occupation is attending and socializing and she is addicted to non-prescribed and illegal drugs and is a habitual drunkard,' Ashcroft has claimed in a court summons.
Ashcroft's 2019 run-in with the law began when officers from the Dallas Fort Worth Department of Public Safety were dispatched to deal with a disturbance on outgoing flight AA2451 to Belize. He's pictured in his mugshot
Canadian national Hartin, 32, has rejected the allegations and says Ashcroft has blocked her from seeing her children without any court order or lawful authorization since June 11.
She has also complained to Belizean and Canadian authorities that her common law partner of seven years took the children out of Belize without her permission.
The pair came face to face Tuesday at court but journalists were excluded from the hour-long hearing.
DailyMail.com understands that the two sides reached an interim arrangement whereby Ashcroft was granted temporary custody but Hartin was permitted limited access to the children while the case proceeds to a full hearing in September.
It's understood her lawyers will now prepare their own legal arguments that will likely include evidence of Ashcroft's drunken behavior during two arrests in the US.
Court records in Broward County, Florida reveal the father-of-two was pulled over in May 2013 on suspicion of speeding and driving his Mercedes Benz while 'under the influence.'
Andrew Ashcroft was hauled off an American Airlines flight in handcuffs and arrested for public intoxication after forcing pilots to abandon takeoff in 2019, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal
Ashcroft could barely walk, reeked of alcohol and when asked by cops how many drinks he had consumed, replied: 'Napping'.
The speeding offence – allegedly going 45mph in 25mph zone – was dismissed but Ashcroft pleaded nolo contendere, or no contest, to a misdemeanor DUI.
He was sentenced to six-months' probation, fined $1,001 and ordered to do 50 hours of community service, which he deferred by paying a further $500.
Ashcroft's 2019 run-in with the law began when officers S. Speck and R. Carrasquillo from the Dallas Fort Worth Department of Public Safety were dispatched to deal with a disturbance on outgoing flight AA2451 to Belize.
'Dispatch advised the aircraft was taxing (sic) to the gate because of an individual on board being disruptive,' Speck wrote in a police report obtained by DailyMail.com.
'Officer Carrasquillo made contact with American Airlines employees, who advised the aircraft turned around because of an individual who was being disruptive.
'Officer Carrasquillo and I made contact with Ashcroft, Andrew ... I noticed Ashcroft was unsteady on his feet and was having difficulty walking. I could also smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from his person. '
Speck said that when Ashcroft was asked where he was headed he spoke with a 'thick tongue and had slurred speech' as he replied: 'I took a nap on the plane.'
When the officers continued to quiz him about his travel, he claimed he was flying into San Pedro, the Belizean resort town where he lives and operates several hotels. The island does not have an international airport, however.
'I asked Ashcroft if he knew where he was, which he responded 'San Padro (sic)' then stated 'Belize Airport', the officer goes on.
'Minutes later I asked Ashcroft again where he was flying from which he stated 'Dallas' he then advised he was flying from LA to Dallas then to Belize.
'I asked Ashcroft how many drinks he had, which he responded 'napping'. Ashcroft finally advised he had two cocktail drinks on the plane.'
Speck says he believed Ashcroft was 'intoxicated to the degree where he was a danger to himself and others' because he was 'unsteady while walking, had slurred speech, was unable to answer basic questions and did not know where he was.'
Ashcroft was placed under arrest for 'Public Intoxication', handcuffed and escorted off the plane to be transported to the Station One jail.
The incident was 'cleared by arrest,' according to the report, and there is no record of further action.
DailyMail.com contacted Ashcroft for comment and he did not respond.
Andrew Ashcroft claims his ex Jasmine Hartin is unfit to care for twins Charlie and Ellie
Prior to the shooting of Jemmott, Hartin and Ashcroft enjoyed a jet-set lifestyle operating a string of luxurious resorts in Ambergris Caye, a tropical island haven for rich ex-pats off the eastern coast of Belize.
That came to a shocking halt in the early hours of May 28 when Jemmott, a father-of-five tipped as a future leader of his country's police force, was struck behind his right ear by a 9mm round from his own Glock 17 service pistol.
According to a criminal complaint he had been 'socializing' and drinking alone with Hartin on a secluded hotel pier one block from the swank Alaia Belize hotel, which she operated with Ashcroft. A security guard heard a 'loud bang' at 12:45am and police arrived to find Hartin 'covered in red substance as that of blood' and Jemmott floating dead on his back 30ft from the shore.
An expended shell casing was still lodged inside the gun which was found on the Mata Rocks hotel pier along with a magazine, live bullets and a pool of blood. After spending the weekend behind bars, Hartin gave a statement saying the off-duty officer was showing her how to handle his firearm as the pair drank and hung out.
In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, she later gave her first public account of the shooting saying the gun went off unexpectedly in her hands as she tried to re-insert a clip and hand it back.
Court records in Broward County, Florida reveal the father-of-two was pulled over in May 2013 on suspicion of speeding and driving his Mercedes Benz while 'under the influence.'
'Henry was my friend. It was an accident, I didn't flee the scene. The first thing I did was call the police myself,' she said.
Hartin also revealed that the reason she was practicing with the gun was because an unnamed man had tried to rape her at a party six days earlier.
She was charged with manslaughter by negligence after prosecutors opted against murder or full-fledged manslaughter on the strength of her witness statement insisting it was an accident. The offence carries a maximum prison sentence of nine months or a fine of around 10,000 Belizean dollars ($5,000 in US money).
Ashcroft also pointed to her arrest for 'accidentally' shooting dead Belize police officer Henry Jemmott, 42, in May
Hartin's relationship with Ashcroft came to an unseemly end after he allegedly barred her from accessing their apartment and stopped her from seeing Charlie and Ellie after her release on bail.
Hartin filmed herself chasing Ashcroft through the Alaia's restaurant to demand answers, a clash that earned her an additional assault charge when a manager later accused her of 'attempting' to push her in the melee.
Ashcroft has not commented on the incident but in a leaked statement to police he said he was worried she was trying to seize the children 'by force'.
'At no time have I told Jasmine that she cannot see her children. I have explained to Jasmine that we have to agree on dates, time and a place convenient to all of us where she can see the children,' the statement read. Hartin will appear before the country's Supreme Court next month to enter a plea over Jemmott's killing
No comments