STOWAWAY RE-ARRESTED BY LOS ANGELES AIRPORT POLICE
STOWAWAY RE-ARRESTED BY LOS ANGELES AIRPORT POLICE
(Los Angeles, California – August 7, 2014) Following a court appearance on August 6, 2014, in which 62-year old Marilyn Jean Hartman pled no contest to a misdemeanor charge of being a stowaway, Hartman was re-arrested today at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) by Los Angeles Airport Police.
Hartman was ordered by the court to stay away from LAX unless she had a valid boarding pass to fly. Hartman also was placed on 24-month summary probation.
“As the person ultimately responsible for the safety and security of employees and passengers at LAX, my experience led me to believe Hartman was likely to return to LAX,” said Airport Police Chief Patrick Gannon, who is also deputy executive director of Homeland Security and Public Safety for Los Angeles World Airports. “When we knew she was going to be released from custody, we were prepared. We worked closely with the Transportation Security Administration and our other airport partners to distribute flyers with her picture on it. She was seen wandering through several terminals today, in what appeared to be a scouting mission.”
On Thursday morning, Hartman was seen boarding a FlyAway® bus from Union Station. Around 10:20 a.m., Hartman arrived at LAX and was observed by Airport Police officers as she entered Terminal 2. She spent approximately one hour at LAX scouting out multiple passenger terminals before being arrested. Airport Police officers did not observe Hartman attempting to purchase an airline ticket and she did not have a ticket or boarding pass in her possession when arrested. At approximately 11:15 a.m., she was taken into custody near Terminal 7 and transported directly to Los Angeles Police Department Pacific Division Jail for pre-booking procedures. She was arrested for California Penal Code Section 1203.2(a)(5), a violation of terms of probation.
Hartman initially was taken into custody at LAX on August 4, 2014, at 9:25 p.m. after Airport Police officers responded to Terminal 1 for a report of a welfare check on an elderly female. When officers arrived, they were told by an airline agent that Hartman arrived on a Southwest Airlines flight from San Jose, California, and was not a ticketed passenger. Further investigation revealed there was no confirmed reservation in the Southwest Airlines system and Hartman had no documents to show proof that she purchased a ticket.
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