Man Flees Tampa Airport Checkpoint

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 A terminal at Tampa International Airport was evacuated for about three
hours Tuesday when a passenger grabbed his carry-on luggage from a checkpoint
and fled after a security official thought he saw a pistol in the bag.

It was one of several security incidents at airports in the region in recent
days.Twenty-four flights were delayed at Tampa and about 1,000 people were
evacuated from the satellite terminal during the search for the man, airport
officials said. He was not caught.Elsewhere in Florida, a woman was arrested
at Miami International Airport after she crashed her pickup truck through a
security gate on Monday, scaled a 10-foot barbed wire fence surrounding a
restricted area and boarded a plane that was being cleaned in a
hangar.According to the arrest report, members of the cleaning crew described
Tanya Polese as "hysterical" and said she believed she was fleeing from
people who wanted to kill her.Polese, 31, was ordered jailed without bail
pending a psychological evaluation.Miami police also arrested a man who they
said assaulted flight attendants and screamed obscenities on an American
Airlines flight from Los Angeles late Monday.The man, whose identity was not
released, appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and prescription
drugs, said airline spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan.Officials in Louisiana
said a man carried eight knives and two pairs of scissors past a checkpoint
Sunday at the New Orleans airport, then was allowed to board a plane before
he was taken into custody. Most of the knives and scissors were found when
the man was picked for a random search at the gate, and the others were found
after he was taken off the plane, said Acting U.S. Attorney Jim Letten."There
is no way I can whitewash this. I and other law enforcement officials are
profoundly disturbed about this," Letten said.Albert Silvarian, 42, was
charged with attempting to board an aircraft with dangerous weapons, which
carries up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He did not immediately
enter a plea.The knives and all but one pair of scissors were still in store
packaging, officials said. "This is clearly not an act of terrorism," said
defense lawyer Ralph Capitelli




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