Cops: Man Sneaked Into Airport, Stole Truck

There was 'no threat to public safety,' says San Jose airport rep
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 24, 2014 10:21 AM CST
Cops: Man Sneaked Into Airport, Stole Truck
A plane taxis after landing at Mineta San Jose International Airport on April 21, 2014, in San Jose, Calif.   (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

For the third time this year, a San Jose airport has seen a major security breach. This time, a man allegedly managed to enter a restricted area and steal a maintenance vehicle at Mineta San Jose International Airport, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Police say Miguel Zaragoza, 39, made his way onto a loading ramp; workers noticed him right away, says an airport rep. With police on their way, the workers brought Zaragoza into a terminal, the rep says. He escaped and hurried over to grounds crews, who said he couldn't ride with them—so he stole their truck and drove toward the main terminal, the rep notes.

Before reaching the main runway, he was finally caught and hospitalized amid odd behavior, police say. "The layers of security worked," says the airport spokeswoman. "We are all eyes and ears for maintaining security here. Our staff sprang into action right away and ensured the safety of our airport." She said there was "no threat to public safety," the San Jose Mercury News reports. It happened at the same airport where a teenager managed to jump a barbed-wire fence and catch a ride to Hawaii in a wheel well earlier this year, the Chronicle notes. But an outside expert tells the Mercury News he wouldn't "lose sleep over" the incidents: Fence-hopping isn't rare, he says. (More airport security stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X