A Florida woman was arrested after allegedly scaling a fence, stealing a U.S. Coast Guard tricycle and riding it on the tarmac at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport last Wednesday.
According to an arrest affidavit the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office provided to Audacy, Magdalena Esteban, 29, was caught on video riding the tricycle at the airport. She left the tricycle behind an Allegiant aircraft before she was apprehended by authorities, it said.
“According to Erik Villa, spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard District 7, the woman was initially attempting to gain access to a Coast Guard aircraft,” said a report in the Tampa Bay Times. “After riding the tricycle to the airport area, she attempted to board a commercial flight departing for Argentina before she was apprehended.”
Law enforcement noted that signage at the airport alerts people that trespassing is a felony offense. Esteban allegedly took the tricycle from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station property before she was found at the airport.
“After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the airfield was constructed on its present site as a military flight-training base,” according to the airport website.
Today, the 2,000-acre fully certified facility has two runways and it is home to the busiest Coast Guard Air Station in the world.
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office records indicate that Esteban was still in jail as of this week and a $5,000 bond was set for her release. She was charged with one count of trespassing in the operational area of an airport and two counts of grand theft and records list her has awaiting trial. Records from the county also indicate Esteban – listed as being from Cordoba, Argentina – was arrested June 10 on grand theft charges and released on bond.
Related
Related
