Summary
- Spirit Airlines passenger’s stolen belongings traced to FLL retail worker’s house, leading to his arrest on felony charge.
- Airport employee caught on camera searching through luggage, stealing MacBook, Apple Watches, and designer clothing.
- Spirit Airlines reimbursed the passenger and clarified that no evidence suggests involvement of their employees.
A Spirit Airlines passenger whose suitcase was stolen from tracked down her missing belongings to the house of a Fort Lauderdale Airport retail employee. The airport worker has now been arrested on a felony charge and Spirit Airlines has reimbursed the passenger involved.
FLL airport worker caught stealing from luggage
As first reported by Local 10, Spirit Airlines passenger Paola Garcia waited for two hours for her hard-shell suitcase to turn up on the carousel after arriving at Fort Lauderdale Airport’s (FLL) Terminal 4. After being reassured by Spirit Airlines employees that her bag would be sent to her house, Garcia received an unusual ping from her Apple Watch the next day, showing its location at a house in Fort Lauderdale around 15 minutes away from the airport.
Photo: YES Market Media | Shutterstock
Garcia, who is attending university and needed her Macbook for a test that day, traveled to the house at 1017 NW 11th Ct. After arriving at the property, she saw suitcases scattered all over the place and decided to call the police. When authorities put the property address through a database, the name of an airport retail worker, 29-year-old Junior Bazile, popped up. Bazile had been employed by a retail company called Paradies Lagardère, and at this stage, it is unclear how exactly he managed to access Garcia’s suitcase.
Theft caught on camera
When police arrived at the property, Bazile no longer had Garcia’s possessions. However, it was known that the accused was on duty at the airport the same day the belongings went missing and, after a deeper investigation, camera footage was discovered showing Bazile rifling through the suitcase at the back of the shop he worked in.
The footage shows him removing the stolen items, including a Macbook, two Apple Watches and designer clothing, before placing the suitcase into a clear plastic bag. Bazile was arrested on the charge of grand theft, which is a felony in the state of Florida if stolen items exceed $750 in value.
Spirit Airlines responds
Spirit Airlines has released a statement on the incident, saying that it provided the passenger with a reimbursement check as a courtesy. The airline added,
“We are not currently aware of any evidence that any Spirit employee was involved. We take any allegation of this nature seriously, and we are investigating.”
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
It’s important to note that the charged individual was not employed by Spirit Airlines. However, this still doesn’t explain how Bazile got his hands on the suitcase of a Spirit passenger, suggesting accomplices could be involved. Garcia is of this same opinion too, telling Local 10,
“Personally, I don’t think it’s one person working in the airport, I think it’s a group. One person can’t just do that, take bags.”
Have you ever heard of an incident like this happening at your local airport? Let us know in the comment section.
