PHOENIX -- Phoenix police released video surveillance footage Tuesday they say shows a suspect stealing luggage from the Sky Harbor baggage claim area.
Keith King, 61, and Stacy Legg King, 38, were arrested by Phoenix Police on November 2 for alleged crimes that go back to 2005, according to County Attorney Andrew Thomas.
Police said after weeks of cataloging and inventorying items recovered at the King's home, they are beginning to return some things to victims.
Annette Brown had her children's passports and birth certificats returned at a news conference Tuesday. "I was excited. It was just like winning the lottery," Brown said. Brown said it was frustrating to have the items missing. "The initial thought was anger," she said. "Just the thought of losing a suitcase between here and there, but then just stress over what was in the suitcase." Investigators say it will be a lengthy process to return all the items, but have identified several victims. "They are items that are so unique that we are able to," said Sgt. Giogi Chaippo. "When a victim says 'I have a pair of daisy earrings,' we have them but if they call and say they have a pair of pants size 10, we have a lot of searching to do." Police say the Kings' house contained 14 rooms and had stolen luggage and personal belongings piled from floor to ceiling.
Police released a detailed list of the evidence collected from the couple's west Valley home after they were arrested and accused of stealing nearly 1,000 baggage items from Sky Harbor Airport.
See photographs from the scene in the attached slideshow
Court documents show that aside from thousands of articles of clothing, shoes, sheets, and luggage, items recovered include:
- MCSO Badge
- Baseball & football card collections
- Commemorative stamp collections
- Flight paramedic uniform
- 50+ pistols and rifles
- Pills
- Deeds, checks, and bank account information
- Passports and driver licenses
- Jewelry
- Traffic tickets
- Books and movies
- Autographed movie posters
- Sight reduction tables for air navigation
- Cameras, laptops, I-Pods, cell phones and accessories
Detectives told ABC15 that at least three airlines, Southwest, USAirways and Continental, were added as victims in the crimes.
Often times, when a passenger reports their bag missing, an airline reimburses the passenger for the contents of the bag.
According to an airline customer service agent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, airlines can provide a passenger with up to $3,000 per bag for the contents inside.
"It doesn't always amount to $3,000, many times I've seen people get $1,500," said the employee.
Police said they are considering the airlines as victims because they have likely paid travelers for their lost luggage.
Chiappo said that the couple's 14-room house was filled from floor to ceiling with luggage and clothing.
Chiappo said King was methodical in the way he stole the luggage because he would take identification tags off the bags and if there were any medicine bottles, he would take labels off them.
Most of the luggage is reportedly black and similar looking, which is making it more difficult for police to identify victims.
Investigators say the airlines involved are providing detectives with bag descriptions and itemized lists of contents that passengers had reported missing.
A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines said the company is focused on helping authorities identify items that could be linked to its passengers.
"We feel for our customers, we want to help them, if we can help identify the missing goods, Southwest Airlines will do whatever it can," said company spokesperson Paul Flaningan. "Southwest is a victim and our passengers are victims."
Police have a handful of leads involving passengers who may be victims, but Chiappo said the theft has been going on for several years.
One of those potential victims is Gil Lopez from Houston. He said he lost one of his two bags on a trip to the Valley in March.
"I was able to find one piece of luggage, but the other was nowhere to be found," Lopez said.
He said his bag had tags, and reported it lost to US Airways. His bag contained mostly clothes, shoes and a jacket, but also had special items.
"I think there was pretty much two things I would want back," Lopez said. "It was my college ring and an heirloom my grandmother gave me. They aren't worth that much, it's just sentimental value to me."
Lopez said he is holding out hope he may now get those items back.
Hundreds of pieces of luggage are still unclaimed after being stolen from Sky Harbor by the Kings, who now face 45 counts including theft, burglary and trafficking in stolen property, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
The investigation started 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 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."
Several days later, King was accused of stealing another bag at the airport, giving police enough probable cause to conduct a search warrant at his Waddell home.
"There's suitcases everywhere," Holmes said. "Floor to ceiling. Everywhere."
Police arrested King, and he and his wife are facing theft and possession of stolen property charges.
Stacy King is also facing charges for tampering with evidence after police said they caught her trying to destroy passports, credit cards, and identifications when they arrived at their home to conduct the search warrant.
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.
Police said the investigation could become international.
If you believe you might be a victim call 602-495-7808. Police said they have been inundated with calls, and said it will take "a long, long time" for people to recover any times they might be missing.
Meanwhile, a records search revealed the Kings had filed for bankruptcy in 2005. Their Waddell house is currently owned by Bayview Loan Servicing LLC and was sold to that organization on August 24.
King was also arrested in 2004, according to court records. He was accused of drug possession and shoplifting. A court document accused him of changing a price tag on an item at a Target store in order to save more than $529 on his purchase.
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