A Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport male employee was arrested after a Spirit Airlines passenger tracked their missing luggage to his home.
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After arriving at the airport, Paola Garcia was waiting for her luggage at the baggage claim inside Terminal 4 when she realized the luggage containing her laptop was missing. Garcia explained to Local 10 News that she waited two hours, and usually, she’d use her pink hard-shell suitcase as a carry-on, but she was forced to check it in this time. An arrest affidavit revealed that Junior Bazile,29, had Garcia’s suitcase in the back of an airport retail store where he worked, and images show Bazile searching through her belongings.
A police report stated Bazile took a MacBook, two Apple watches, an iPad, jewelry, and other items from the suitcase before placing them in a plastic bag. Unaware of the theft, Spirit Airlines told Garcia that her luggage was sent home, leading her to provide her address to the airline. The next day, Garcia’s Apple watch started pinging from a location not at the airport but from a home in Fort Lauderdale. She drove to the area, determined to get her laptop since she had a test that day, and discovered suitcases piled around Bazile’s home.
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After she called 911, police warned her about the danger of confronting the situation alone. A Broward Sheriff’s Office detective cross-referenced the address with an internal airport database and linked it to Bazile, who was working the day Garcia’s stuff was stolen. When confronted by authorities, Bazile claimed he had already thrown out the stolen items and was arrested plus charged with a felony.
Spirit Airlines issued Garcia a reimbursement check as a courtesy, and she believes the theft is part of a bigger scheme.
“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.”