GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- A former baggage handler for U.S. Airways was charged with nine felony counts of larceny in a series of laptop computer thefts from customers at Piedmont Triad International Airport.
Ryan Eugene Brown, 32, of Greensboro, was named with a second man in an arrested warrant issued Thursday, Guilford County Sheriff's Sgt. Doug Burroughs said. Justin Smith, 32, of Greensboro, was charged with four counts of possession of stolen goods, Burroughs said.
Both men were expected to be arrested Friday, he said.
As many as 20 laptop computers disappeared from a baggage sorting area behind the U.S. Airways check-in desk at the Greensboro airport within the past year or so, authorities said.
Brown was questioned after airport police turned over surveillance tapes pointing to his involvement late last month, officials said.
''He implicated himself in the theft and another person who helped him clean (the computers) up by erasing the hard drives,'' sheriff's Lt. Tim Parker said.
Several of the laptop computers were sold, investigators said.
Brown was a part-time employee in the fleet service department, where his responsibilities included handling checked baggage, U.S. Airways spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said. He no longer works for the airline, she said.
The airline's security service initiated the investigation and turned over the results to local authorities last month, Kudwa said.
Brown also worked in the airport as a part-time security screener for the Transportation Security Administration.
