Police: Couple Stole Thousands Of Bags From Airport

PHOENIX - Two people have been arrested on suspicion stealing thousands of baggage items from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, reported

KNXV-TV in Phoenix.

Phoenix Police spokesman Detective James Holmes said the arrests were made Monday night, three weeks after an alert police officer first observed suspicious behavior near one of the airport's luggage carousels.

The officer apparently watched a man approach the carousel from the outside the airport.

According to Holmes, the officer then followed Keith King to the parking lot and was "able to determine that he did not come from a current flight, and yet he had removed baggage from that carousel."

Holmes said officers started looking at airport surveillance video and determined King could have been involved in baggage theft on more than one occasion.

"In the meantime," Holmes said, "Mr. King was released from jail on his own recognizance."

On Monday, King was accused of stealing another bag at the airport, giving police enough probable cause to conduct a search warrant at his Waddell home near 175th and Glendale avenues.

"There's suitcases everywhere," Holmes said. "Floor to ceiling. Everywhere."

Police arrested King and his wife, Stacy Legg King, for theft and possession of stolen property.

Stacy King is also facing charges for tampering with evidence after police caught her allegedly trying to destroy some items inside the home when they arrived to conduct the search warrant.

On Tuesday morning, police pulled dozens of pieces of luggage from the home and placed them into a large moving truck parked in the street, officers said.

Crime tape blocked off the road to neighbors, many of whom were not surprised by the arrests.

According to Eugene Honeycutt, who lives down the street, things always seemed a little "weird" at the King household.

Honeycutt recalled times when he watched King come and go from his home at 4 a.m. with a horse trailer packed with all sorts of items.

Honeycutt said some of the items could have been luggage, but he couldn't remember.

He said it seemed strange, however, because the Kings did not own horses.

"There was something not right going on there," said Honeycutt. He added that he had purchased items from King during one of his recent garage sales.

Honeycutt said he purchased several children's videos from King but later grew suspicious.

"I wondered, what would a man like this [would] be doing with all these videos for little children," Honeycutt said.

Police said it is possible that some of the items from the luggage was sold in a swap meet or a garage sale.

They have identified some of the victims connected to stolen luggage, but they said the investigation could become international and could have affected travelers from years ago. Police are still trying to identify all the goods.

Holmes said detectives would take pictures of the items for evidence purposes.

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