Man Steals Wallet From Disabled Passenger At TSA Checkpoint — Officer Puts Him In His Place

Bodycam footage was just released from Fort Lauderdale airport where a passenger’s wallet was tolen at TSA. The man had placed his bag, phone, and black Gucci wallet in a binto be screened. By the time he got through, the wallet was gone.

He reported his wallet, with $25 in it, missing. Everyone at the airport is on video, so TSA reviewed the footage and identified the thief while he was still in the airport. Law enforecement tracked him down and approached him. The suspect asked if they could go somewhere private? And the deputy responds, “Did you take the wallet in private?”

The wallet was found in the man’s carry-on.
He claimed he’d been in a rush at security and accidentally grabbed the wrong wallet.
But his wallet was brown, and the stolen one was a black Gucci item.

There was actually $40 in the wallet. The incident actually happened back on September 29, but the footage only just became available. The passenger whose wallet was taken has a prosthetic leg, and it takes them more time to get through TSA. That delay is what created the window where his wallet was through screening becfore he was.

The suspect was booked in Broward County with the arresting agency listed as AIRPORT. He was charged with petit theft, second degree, first offense ($150 bond) and possession, receiving, and retaining a stolen credit or debit card ($2,500 bond).

This wasn’t just theft of a wallet, it was taking a wallet from a disabled passenger. I mean, come on. And stealing at a TSA checkpoint is stupid. Even screeners themselves sometimes get caught! Here’s one who got caught stealing from a passenger and stuffed the $300 in her mouth. It’s all being filmed!

Some of the better comments on the video,

“Can we go somewhere in private? / Did you take the wallet in private?” — pinned, 1.7K likes.
“It takes a special kind of stupid to steal at an airport.”
“Got the nerve to want privacy. You can’t make it up.”
“What a genius cop. ‘Got an ID?’ It’s in the wallet.”
“He went to jail over a value meal that wouldn’t fill him up.”
“You stole in public but want to be arrested in private. The audacity.”

This is why you should always keep your eyes on your bags when going through the security checkpoint. It’s easy to take the wrong thing at the checkpoint, too.

(HT: Paddle Your Own Kanoo)