N.C. Man Arrested at Airport for Allegedly Stealing Laptop

Police officers arrested a North Carolina man for trying to make off with a laptop set aside by another passenger during a search at a security checkpoint at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.

According to police affidavits, Londonderry police stationed at the airport received a complaint from a man who said he had lost his Dell laptop. The man told police he had last seen the computer at the security checkpoint where he had placed it in a tray for scanning Friday.

While police took down the man's information, a second man, James Coombs, 36, of Fayette, N.C., inquired about where he could find a convenience store, because he wanted to purchase a bag. After taking a description of a possible suspect from the owner of the laptop, police encountered Coombs once again, near Gate 8. Although he had no identification, he gave police his name and showed them a blue bag with a Dell laptop in it.

According to the police affidavit, when police asked Coombs to open the laptop, he did not know how. The computer in Coombs' possession was identified as the missing computer. Coombs was arrested and charged with receiving stolen property.

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