CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- There’s a little more information Tuesday morning on the background of a 36-year-old man who police say was living in a secured area of O’Hare for three months undetected.
There are still questions about how anyone could live undetected for three months in a secured area of O’Hare.
Authorities said 36-year-old Aditya Singh did it, and that he claimed he was too afraid to fly back to California because of the risk of contracting COVID-19.
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Prosecutors said Singh arrived at O’Hare on a flight from Los Angeles on Oct. 19, and lived in a restricted area of the airport until Saturday, when he was arrested.
He is charged with felony criminal trespass to a restricted area of an airport and misdemeanor theft.
Prosecutors said that before he started living at O’Hare, he shared a place in Orange, California, with roommates. He has a master’s degree in hospitality and is unemployed.
One of those roommates, Carl Jones, told the Orange County Register that he assumed Singh had gone back to his home in India. He said he gave Singh room-and-board in exchange for help with caring for Jones’ elderly father, said Singh was a nice and quiet man.
“I am completely clueless about this,” Jones said.
Jones said Singh had been a student at the University of Oklahoma and had gone to California to visit family there. He said Singh was involved with the local Buddhist community and was usually very clean-shaven - quite different from his photos on TV, showing him with a long beard.
“As far as I know (Singh) was at the airport and gone,” Jones said. “I assumed he went back to India, I didn’t know he was still stuck there, or I would’ve sent him a ticket...I just can’t believe he was there that long.”
Jones said he never had any problems with Singh.
It was unclear what brought Singh to Chicago and if he has any ties to the area. He does not have a criminal background, according to Assistant Public Defender Courtney Smallwood.
According to the Tribune, as a condition of bail, Judge Susana Ortiz barred Singh from stepping foot in O'Hare Airport again if he is able to post the $1,000 he needs for his release. He is due back in court Jan. 27.
“The court finds these facts and circumstances quite shocking for the alleged period of time that this occurred,” the judge said. “Being in a secured part of the airport under a fake ID badge allegedly, based upon the need for airports to be absolutely secure so that people feel safe to travel, I do find those alleged actions do make him a danger to the community.”