A flight attendant has been charged with grand larceny after allegedly stealing a bracelet set worth around $8,000 from a passenger at a TSA checkpoint at Reagan National Airport (DCA) on Monday.
The suspect has been identified as Rebecca Valley, 60, from Dellroy, Ohio. Valley works as a flight attendant for Republic Airways which operates regional services on behalf of American American, Delta and United Airlines.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said the victim alerted officers at the checkpoint that her expensive bracelet had gone missing after going to collect it from a tray that had passed through x-ray screening.
The victim had initially tried to wear the bracelet on her wrist as she passed through the checkpoint but this activated the body scanner and she was made to take off the jewelry and leave it unattended for a short time.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department were called to the scene and security camera footage covering the checkpoint was quickly pulled. A review of the recording identified a potential suspect who was described by Farbstein as a “second traveler in a flight attendant’s uniform” picking up the bracelet.
The police quickly identified a person matching the suspect’s description in the terminal building and Valley was taken into custody.
Court records show that Valley is due to be arraigned at Arlington District Court on Friday afternoon. The maximum punishment for someone found guilty of grand larceny in Virginia is up to 12 months imprisonment, plus a fine of up to $2,500.
Farbstein told the Washington Post that travelers should hide expensive jewelery, watches, phones and wallets inside their hand luggage rather than placing them separately in a tray.
This is pretty sad. I saw the photo of the FA, and frankly, she looked like she might have a drug problem. Doesn’t excuse her theft, but maybe that explains it.