PHOENIX (AP) —
Locked safes, medical equipment and clothing piled from floor to
ceiling were among the hoards of personal belongings sorted by police
on Thursday after a couple was arrested on charges they stole luggage
from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Clothing from
nearly 1,000 stolen bags took up entire rooms at the couple's home in
Waddell, where police served a search warrant Tuesday. Police also
uncovered about 25 guns at the residence, although it was unclear if
the weapons were stolen from the luggage, said Sgt. Giogi Chiampo.
Keith
King, 61, remained held Thursday in a Maricopa County jail on a $25,000
bond. His wife, Stacy Lynne Legg-King, 38, posted bond and was released
from jail, according to police.
The couple was arrested Monday at
their home about 20 miles northwest of Phoenix and were booked on
suspicion of burglary and possession of stolen property. The arrests
were part of an ongoing airport burglary operation.
Police said
surveillance video showed Keith King parking in an airport garage and
walking to the baggage-claim area to steal luggage. They said the two
had been taking luggage from the airport over a period of a year or
more.
Neighbors also reported seeing a trailer full of material
arriving to the home in the middle of the night, which they described
as suspicious. One told detectives that the couple frequently held
garage sales to sell a variety of merchandise, including luggage.
Detectives
are trying to track missing items, which include electronics like
laptops, video games and cameras. Other items recovered at the Kings'
home included GPS devices.
Chiampo said detectives were in touch
with some victims of the Sky Harbor heists, but that returning stolen
items to victims would be difficult because the bags had been stripped
of identifying information.
"A lot of the baggage is very similar
in nature," she said. "The likelihood of matching everything we have is
at this point slim. Most of what we have is empty luggage."
Airport
officials said they will discuss security measures, such as
reinstituting routine baggage-claim checks to ensure bags are picked up
by the correct passengers. Checks were eliminated several years ago to
cut costs.
Information from: The Arizona Republic.