CHICAGO, Illinois — A California man managed to live in the secure area of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport for three months, avoiding detection until he finally was arrested over the weekend, reports say.
The Associated Press reports Aditya Singh, 36, was arrested Saturday. He is charged with felony criminal trespass to a restricted area of an airport and misdemeanor theft. A judge on Sunday ruled that Singh could be released from the Cook County Jail if he paid $1,000, but said Singh was prohibited from setting foot in the airport.
The Chicago Tribune reports Singh boarded a flight from Los Angeles on Oct. 19 with the intent of flying home to India because his visa was about to expire. But he ended up staying at O’Hare, reportedly telling police he was scared to fly because of the coronavirus pandemic.
For three months Singh lived in a secure area of the airport, with access to terminals, shops and food, the Tribune reports. He reportedly was able to convince other passengers to purchase food for him, reports say.
On Saturday, Singh was spotted by two United Airlines employees, who asked him for identification, the AP reports. He showed them an airport worker’s badge that had been reported missing in late October. The badge would have been deactivated after being reported missing, according to the Tribune.
“While this incident remains under investigation, we have been able to determine that this gentleman did not pose a security risk to the airport or to the traveling public,” the Chicago Department of Aviation said in a statement to the Tribune. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners on a thorough investigation of this matter.”
The details on how Singh ended up staying at O’Hare remain unclear, reports say.
“I’m kind of flabbergasted,” Carl Jones, with whom Singh lived in California, tells the Tribune. “Maybe he got to Chicago and due to some sort of hiccup couldn’t get any farther or just freaked out about having to go back to India, I don’t know. But, as far as I know, he was supposed to be just laying over and going to India.”
The incident rattled Cook County Judge Susana Ortiz, the AP reports.
“The court finds these facts and circumstances quite shocking for the alleged period of time that this occurred,” the judge said. “Being in a secured part of the airport under a fake ID badge allegedly, based upon the need for airports to be absolutely secure so that people feel safe to travel, I do find those alleged actions do make him a danger to the community.”
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