A Spirit Airlines crew had been arrested in Fort Lauderdale and charged with grand theft after a determined airline passenger discovered her luggage was stolen and brought to his house, WPLG Local 10 reported.
A Spirit Airlines Passenger's Nightmare
Paola Garcia stood at Carousel 4 inside Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport's Terminal 4 to collect her pink hard-shell suitcase along with other passengers until she panicked after waiting for almost two hours with no luggage appearing on the conveyor belt.
According to an arrest affidavit and images, 29-year-old Junior Bazile reportedly had her suitcase at the rear of an airport retail store where he was employed. Investigation photos depicted him searching through the suitcase, which contained a MacBook, two Apple watches, an iPad, jewelry, and designer clothing, which he then placed in a clear plastic bag.
Spirit Airlines employees told Garcia not to worry. Unaware of the theft, she then provided her address to Spirit under the assumption that her luggage had been sent to her house. However, her Apple watch was emitting a signal the next morning, not from the airport but from a house at 1017 NW 11th Ct.
A Surprising Grand Theft Scene
Upon arrival, she noticed suitcases scattered around and promptly began video recording while calling 911. A Broward Sheriff's Office detective utilized an internal airport database to locate Bazile, employed by a company managing retail stores within FLL and was on duty when Garcia's suitcase went missing. When confronted by authorities, Bazile had already disposed of the stolen items and was consequently arrested and charged with grand theft.
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Local 10 News' Jeff Weinsier visited the house to talk to Bazile and ask about the several suitcases Garcia captured on video, but since he was not home, he had a cordial conversation with his mother instead.
Upon being informed that, at one point, Garcia's Apple watch was signaling from her house, she abruptly became agitated and grabbed Weinsier's station ID directly from his neck and refused to return it. She then began calling for assistance loudly and requested to be put on camera despite being recorded. She proceeded to strike Weinsier and falsely claimed that she was the one being assaulted.
Police officers were summoned and witnessed the entire interaction, which was captured on camera. Weinsier decided not to press charges for her physical assault against him. Bazile appeared in court for the status hearing a few days later but only responded "go away" repeatedly when questioned by Weinsier about the Grand Theft charge.
Managements' Accountability
In a statement to Local 10 News, Spirit Airlines stated that they issued a reimbursement check to the guest as a courtesy despite not being currently aware of any evidence implicating any Spirit employee. They emphasized that they take any allegations of this nature seriously and are conducting an investigation.
A spokesperson for Paradies Shops, the company where Bazile was employed at the airport, also made a statement to Local 10 on Wednesday, emphasizing that Paradies Lagardère took this matter very seriously and terminated the employee immediately upon learning of the incident.
Garcia questioned whether this incident was part of a larger scheme and believed it might involve a group rather than an individual working at the airport. The police reports do not specify how Bazile obtained the suitcase, and Broward Sheriff's Office officials stated that the matter remains under investigation.
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