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Husband and wife team steals 1,000 bags
If you were to steal 1,000 pieces of luggage, where would you keep it all? Wherever they shoved the bags, Keith Wilson King and Stacy Lynne Legg-King saw the police pull them out of their house one-by-one and stack them in the yard. The duo had been pinching luggage from the baggage carousels at the Phoenix airport, amassing an impressive collection of stolen goods ... so big the police couldn't provide an exact number.
Phoenix Detective James Holiday called what the Kings did "a livelihood," rather than the pieces of luggage picked up a bit at a time or only as a one-shot deal.
Keith King was originally arrested three weeks ago for misdemeanor theft. The police kept an eye on him, though. When he went back to the airport again, the police followed him home (on Monday). The next day, they searched the King home and found many, many more. Both King and his wife were arrested, with the latter also picked up on charges of tampering with evidence.
The moral of the story? Be careful what you check!
[Photo by sun dazed via Flickr]
Filed under: North America, United States, Airlines, Airports
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sean McLachlan Nov 5th 2009 3:59PM
I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often. Despite all the security at airports, I've never once had to prove that a bag I was hauling off a carousel was mine, and I make at least a dozen flights a year. Wait, I seem to have a vague memory of being asked to show my baggage receipt before leaving the baggage claim area. It was only once and so long ago I can't even remember where it happened. Somewhere in the U.S. It must have been at least 15 years ago. Way before 9/11.
Stolen Nov 5th 2009 4:16PM
I make over 30 flights a year and I've been asked to verify that my checked bag was my own and that was over 5 years ago. As Sean said, I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.
steve326m Nov 6th 2009 12:15AM
Here in The Philippines, when you check a bag, you are given a check in receipt which you must produce in order to be allowed out of the terminal. After you retrieve your bag(s) off the carousel and head out, you are met at the exit by 2 security guards (Both heavily armed) and you then must show the guard the claim stub(s) for the luggage. This is to supposedly to prevent passengers from accidentally grabbing the wrong bags which is true but it is also due to the majority of folks being dishonest and are trying to steal it. I think this procedure would work well with US airports.
God Bless,
Steve & Myrlita
Bacolod City, PH