PORTLAND, OR — A man has been arrested for and admitted to stealing half a dozen firearms from the Portland International Airport — right out of passenger’s checked baggage, KATU 2 reports.
The 27-year-old baggage handler was apprehended late last year, and he is expected to be sentenced July 29, 2019.
Deshawn Antonio Kelly, of Portland, worked as a baggage handler at PDX from August 19, 2018 to September 17, 2018. Over that four-week period, the U.S. Attorney says, Kelly stole six guns that had been checked by passengers traveling to and from Oregon.
KATU 2
The guns included three 9mm pistols, two .40 caliber pistols, and a .45 caliber pistol.
He was arrested on September 25 at the airport. Authorities say he admitted that he stole the guns and told investigators where they were located.
The DA’s office says a charge of possessing a stolen firearm carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, up to $250,000 fine and three years’ of post-prison supervision.
It’s something of an oddity that this young man found so many firearms he could get his hands on in so short a time — to hear all of the internet tacticool modern-day Julius Caesars out there, packing a gun to take to a foreign location while you fly is a waste of time and energy.
It’s almost miraculous that Kelly made it even a month, given the nature of the items being stolen. Hopefully, the rightful owners of these firearms will see their property returned to them rather than lost to evidence for quite some time.
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