SANA'A, YEMEN - MAY 28: Yemeni pilgrims arrive at the International Sana'a Airport to fly to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage on May 28, 2024, in Sana'a, Yemen. The first Hajj flight of 437 pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia on Yemenia Airways departed Sana'a International Airport on Tuesday as a part of the total of 12,000 pilgrims who are authorized to go to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj. (Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)
A woman in Florida wasn’t playing any games about her missing luggage! Paola Garcia tracked her bags all the way to an airport worker’s home, and now that employee is facing a felony charge.
According to Florida’s Local 10, Garcia had flown on Spirit Airlines. Though she usually flies with her pink, hard-shell suitcase as a carry-on, this time, the airline allegedly made her check the bag.
After waiting inside Terminal 4 at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Paola realized her luggage was missing. After two hours, she started to panic, as her bags hadn’t popped onto Carousel 4.
“…I’m thinking I need my computer because I go to the university, I need my computer no matter what,” she told the outlet.
But while she waited in one area of the airport, the accused employee, Junior Bazile, had the missing luggage in his possession. Junior was employed at one of the airport’s retail stores, per Local 10.
Surveillance footage shared by Local 10 shows Junior going through Paola’s suitcase. After taking out her MacBook, two Apple watches, an iPad, and some designer clothing items, he placed the missing luggage in a clear plastic bag.
Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines employees assured her that there was no need to worry. She had provided them with her home address so the missing luggage could be delivered once it was located.
By the next morning, though, Paola’s Apple Watch was sending signals from a location 15 minutes away from the Fort Lauderdale airport. Still worried about her college schoolwork, Garcia decided to go get her luggage herself.
Local 10 reports that Paola discovered multiple suitcases “all over the place” when she arrived at 1017 NW 11th Court.
Junior Bazile was determined a suspect after a Broward County Sheriff’s Office detective ran the address through the internal airport database.
By the time police spoke to Junior, he had allegedly gotten rid of the stolen items. Prosecutors have charged him with grand theft.
If the court determines the case to be third-degree grand theft, Junior could reportedly face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
As mentioned, Paola was a Spirit Airlines passenger when this incident occurred. Given that she didn’t recover her items, the airline told Local 10 they gave her a “courtesy” reimbursement.
“We issued a reimbursement check to the guest as a courtesy, even though 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,” the airline rep said.
Meanwhile, the airport said via a spokesperson that passenger bags are the responsibility of each airline. It’s still unclear how the airport employee got ahold of the missing luggage.
Additionally, Paradise Shops—the company Junior worked for—confirmed they have fired him. They also assured the media that they’re cooperating with local police on the case.
Speaking of airports and their employees, the Department of Transportation issued a customer-oriented mandate to airline carriers in April. The measure requires airlines to give cash refunds for canceled and extremely delayed flights. Although airlines will still be able to offer travel credits or other flight options, customers have the right to reject that offer.
