Police: Woman Returning From 'Judge Judy' Appearance Stole iPad, Other Items On Plane
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Just after appearing on "The Judge Judy Show" this week, a woman was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport for allegedly stealing a flight crewmember's iPad and a passenger's passport and bank card, police said Thursday.
Melissa Perez, 26, of the Bronx, was arrested by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police after landing at JFK on American Airlines Flight 22 from Los Angeles. The flight landed just after midnight Thursday morning, police said.
While the plane was in the air, a crewmember noticed that her tote bag was missing, police said. The crew searched the area and found the tote bag under seat 13A, and also discovered that the iPad was missing, police said.
Port Authority police officers interviewed the passengers after the plane landed, and the crew member – a 27-year-old woman – told them she saw a woman take the bag and put it under her seat, police said. Officers then found the iPad under in Perez's carry-on, police said.
Perez was arrested on charges of possession of stolen property, police said.
Meanwhile, a 29-year-old woman who had been on the flight said her U.S. passport card and her Bank of America Card were missing, police said. The woman said she had taken a nap on the plane, and when she woke up, she saw Perez near her purse and noticed someone had rifled through it, police said.
After Perez was taken into custody, police found the bank card and passport hidden in her underwear, police said. She was also carrying about 10 grams of marijuana in a prescription bottle, police said.
Perez told police she had been in Los Angeles to appear on a taping of "Judge Judy." Representatives of the show confirmed to CBS2 that Perez had appeared for a taping on Wednesday.
