Have You Seen the Phoenix Airport Bag Thief?
Vadim Liberman September 25, 2014
Surveillance video catches a suspect snatching a woman’s bag off a baggage carousel and leaving the airport.
Flyers entering Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) might want to be especially vigilant when looking for their luggage on a baggage carousel. Police are searching for a suspect who stole a passenger’s bag from Terminal 4 on August 17, at 12:06 p.m., according to azfamily.com.
Authorities were able to pinpoint the time because surveillance video captured the theft. Cameras further picked up the suspect arriving and exiting the airport aboard the PHX Sky Train, transferring to the Valley Metro Light Rail and eventually exiting at Central Ave. and Washington St.
The thief was said to be a white male, between 25 and 35 years old, 180 to 200 pounds, and between 5 ft. 11 in. and 6 ft. 1 in. tall. He was sporting a brown Harley Davidson t-shirt, light-colored short and sandals. There’s also a tattoo on his inner left forearm.
“This is someone who is used to this kind of life,” said Phoenix police’s Sgt. Derek Elmore. “Where he’s used to taking things that don’t belong to him because he had no panic on his face. No looking around. No nothing. Just walked in, grabbed the bag and took off.”
Last November, airport surveillance cameras turned up four suspects shown stealing bags from carousels numerous times. And five years ago, authorities charged married couple Keith King, 62, and Stacy Legg King, 38, with stealing about 1,000 bags at the airport. That’s far more than the average of one or two bags a day that azfamily.com reports are stolen at PHX.
[Photo: azfamily.com/Phoenix Sky Harbor]
When I went to New Orleans, that was the first airport where they asked for my ticket at the carousel area.