Police in Atlanta have arrested a man they believe was stealing luggage from the city airport, after he was confronted by his purported victim while wearing the man's shirt and jeans.
Craig Nelson has been charged with unlawful removal of baggage, theft by taking and criminal trespass following the incident at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Jameel Reid, his alleged victim, said he tracked Nelson down with his luggage using an Apple Air Tag he had stored in the bag, following a return flight to Atlanta from Los Angeles.
Speaking to local network WSB-TV he said: "This guy, so he stole my luggage. I had about $3,000 worth of stuff in here.
"I'm going to baggage claim and all that...I'm trying to look for my luggage. I'm standing there for like 30 minutes or so. I'm not seeing it.
"Eventually, I pulled my phone out, so I have an Air Tag in my luggage. After I had seen that it was not in the airport, it was actually in Grady."
However Reid noticed the Air Tag was moving back to the airport, and informed airport security while continuing to track its location using his phone.
Eventually, it arrived back at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport where Reid tracked down and confronted the alleged thief.
Addressing the suspect he reportedly said: "This silver one here, I have a tracking device in it and I tracked it to you. And you have my shirt on...that's insane. My shirt and my jeans." Police later intervened and detained Nelson.
However, Reid said he still has concerns about security at the airport, commenting: "You can literally walk into baggage claim, like walk straight in and possibly take somebody's luggage and walk out and nobody would even know."
Speaking to WSB-TV, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport said it was assisting Atlanta Police with their investigation. Newsweek has independently contacted the airport by email, requesting comment and any update they can offer.
Last year Sam Brinton, then deputy assistant secretary of spent fuel and waste disposition in the Department of Energy, was charged with theft after allegedly stealing a woman's bag from an airport. Brinton was fired from the department after the charges were confirmed.
According to Luggage Hero, 690,000 bags went missing or were otherwise mishandled by U.S. airlines during the first half of 2021.
In November 2022, Pernell Anthony Jones of Kenner, Louisiana, admitted he and his co-conspirators had falsely claimed over half a million dollars in compensation for lost bags they never owned.
Kenner pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of committing mail fraud, after taking flights on commercial airlines under "false or fictitious identities using fraudulent identification cards," then saying his baggage had been stolen and claiming compensation.
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James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world ... Read more
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