Luggage Thief Gets 10 Years in Prison

Contributing Editor Carl Unger believes that every trip is worth taking. He loves an extended trip to Europe as much as he enjoys exploring the towns and landscape near home. Basically, you'll find him wherever there is good food, fresh air, and plenty of stories to bring home.

Carl has been writing for SmarterTravel since 2005. His travel writing has also appeared on USA Today and the About.com Boston travel guide.

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Keith King, who, along with his wife, was arrested for stealing some 1,000 pieces of luggage from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison today. King’s wife was sentenced to three-and-a-half years a few weeks ago.

According to msnbc, “Keith King pleaded guilty in September to two counts of burglary and one count each of theft, drug possession and trafficking stolen property. He was also ordered on Tuesday to pay nearly $84,000 in restitution.”

King’s baggage theft scheme received quite a bit of attention when it was revealed. He and his wife would simply walk in, grab a bag, and walk out. Sky Harbor, like most airports, had long ago stopped checking baggage claim tickets with any vigilance, and the Kings exploited this for months. Police finally caught on, and followed King to his home one day and arrested him.

A separate baggage-theft scheme at Sky Harbor was broken up just this past September. A baggage worker employed by a third-party contractor was arrested for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of items from travelers’ bags.

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