ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / NEWS

Woman Tracks Stolen Luggage Like a Detective, It Was Found At Airport Store Worker's Home

The now-former retail employee at a Florida airport has been charged with grand theft.
PUBLISHED JUN 6, 2024
Cover Image Source: Unsplash | Photo by Gabrielle Henderson
Cover Image Source: Unsplash | Photo by Gabrielle Henderson

Spirit Airlines passenger managed to track down her stolen luggage at a now-former retail airport employee’s house. Paola Garcia told Local10 that she used one of her missing items in the luggage and tracked down a house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where Junior Bazile, 29, resided. Bazile has since been arrested and charged with grand theft in the third degree, according to a probable cause affidavit.



 

Garcia was slated to leave the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on a Spirit Airlines flight on March 3. However, the airline canceled the fight and all passengers were told to collect their checked-in luggage from the baggage belt 4, as per the affidavit.

Representative Image | Getty Images | Photo by Horacio Villalobos - Corbis
Representative Image | Getty Images | Photo by Horacio Villalobos - Corbis

Garcia told CNN affiliate WPLG in Miami that she usually takes her pink suitcase onboard, but she was told she had to check it this time. She waited at least two hours for her pink roller bag/suitcase, at the belt, but it never arrived. The baggage allegedly contained an Apple MacBook, iPad, Apple Watch, some jewelry, high-end women’s clothing, and toiletries.

When her luggage didn’t arrive, she contacted Spirit Airlines which told her that her luggage had been sent to her house. However, the luggage didn’t come to her home either. Fed up with the delay, Garcia decided to find her bag using her electronic tracker.



 

She pinged the electronic items inside the bag to try and locate them, which gave the location and an address in Fort Lauderdale, the affidavit said.

As per the CNN report, Garcia went down to the tracked address to retrieve her things. However, she failed to contact anyone inside the home. She took pictures and videos of the place where she saw “several pieces of luggage in the front of the home,” which didn’t belong to her.

She then dialed 911, she said in the WPLG interview. “The first thing I remember the police told me is: ‘What are you doing here? This is so dangerous for you to be here, “ she recalled them saying.

Following her complaint, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office searched the address within the airport’s employee databases and found that Bazile reportedly lived there. He was listed to be working at Paradies Lagardère Travel Retail store at the airport. He was working on the day of the theft, as per the affidavit.

Furthermore, the police contacted the store’s loss prevention manager who provided the detective with internal CCTV footage from the day of the incident. In the footage, Bazile could be seen entering the store’s storage room with a pink shell roller bag, which matched the description of the stolen bag.

In the video, Bazile was seen rummaging through the luggage. He then appeared to take the MacBook and some other smaller items out of the luggage and put them in other bags. A WPLG video showed the man holding a plastic bag containing a pink suitcase and holding a laptop.



 

The Broward Sheriff’s Office confirmed to PEOPLE that Bazile was arrested on March 8 and charged with grand theft in the third degree. As per the arrest warrant, obtained by the publication, the stolen items included an Apple MacBook, iPad, Apple Watch, jewelry, and more along with the suitcase.

The accused has pleaded not guilty and posted a $30,000 bond. He is next set to appear in court on August 23, as per the court records.



 

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
One can imagine how hilarious it was when the two iconic hosts shared the stage.
10 hours ago
Gwendolyn Osborne said that Carey changed the history of television and set a new standard.
12 hours ago
The player brought his parents on the stage and that made things even more emotionally charged.
13 hours ago
The player did lose everything that he had won but also get another shot and made a stunning recovery.
1 day ago
Steve Harvey has previously shared style tips with fans in a behind the scenes clip.
1 day ago
The founders of "The Long Hairs" made a rocking pitch that had the sharks headbanging.
2 days ago
The family watched the show as a way to help their son learn problem solving skills from the games.
2 days ago
Jonathan Deiersing pitched his innovative men’s padded underwear line, "Rounder Bum" in the Tank.
2 days ago
Drew Carey is talented in a lot of ways and contestants also bring their unique skills on the stage sometimes.
2 days ago
Seacrest was so astonished that he had to test the contestant's strength right then and there.
3 days ago
Drew Carey is quite a sensation when it comes to performing viral dance trends.
3 days ago
The guest initially expected her grandmother's painting to be worth a couple hundred dollars.
3 days ago
The creators of the show apparently went too far with the joke but tried to make up for it too.
4 days ago
The TikTok creator claimed that the recalled products are widely used by low-income and middle-class families.
4 days ago
The star was stopped midway by his partner while fans loved the look.
4 days ago
Viewers couldn't believe what they saw and some even suggested it could be a prank.
4 days ago
Cuban offered the entrepreneur a "geek to geek" offer that he couldn't refuse.
4 days ago
Reports suggest that the anti-theft measures are causing hostility between shoppers and workers.
5 days ago
Seemed like inflation has been eating into the nuggets sold by Walmart under Great Value.
5 days ago
The entrepreneur shared that it was a habit of his to reward the people who worked hard for him.
6 days ago