Sea-Tac stowaway charged with trespassing after second arrest near TSA checkpoint

Prosecutors filed a second trespassing charge this week against a woman who is accused of getting through the security checkpoint and boarding a Delta flight to Hawaii on Christmas Eve at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac).

Shemaiah Small, 33, of San Rafael, California, was initially arrested for the stowaway incident on Dec. 24. She was released from jail after 48 hours, then re-arrested the following day when a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employee spotted her near checkpoint 2 at Sea-Tac, according to Port of Seattle Police.

Police said Small had no business at the airport and she was arrested for criminal trespass, a gross misdemeanor.

Small's case has gained national attention and raised questions about how someone could get through the TSA checkpoint without a ticket and then board a flight. According to court filings, Small was discovered on board the Delta flight to Honolulu as the plane was taxiing to the runway.
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While Small currently faces all misdemeanor charges in the municipal court of the city of SeaTac, she could be subject to federal prosecution for the first arrest. According to federal law, the Special Aircraft Jurisdiction of the United States applies after the boarding doors are closed. Being a stowaway on an aircraft is a violation of federal law and is punishable by up to five years in prison.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle told KOMO News it has not made a charging decision on Small's case as of Thursday.

According to police reports obtained by KOMO News, Small was first reported to airport authorities around midnight on Dec. 24 when a traveler reported seeing her walking barefoot while holding a bottle of whiskey.

An officer saw her enter the bathroom and and waited 15-20 minutes for her come out. When she didn't emerge from the bathroom, another officer went in and contacted her.

"[Small] stated that she was ill (diarrhea) and that she would need some time," a police officer wrote in the arrest report. "At that time, we were unable to verify the female's identity or flight status. Due to her diarrhea and the lengthy time she was in the restroom, we offered to grab her belongings and bring them to her. She declined ... we then cleared the call."

Investigators say video shows Small stayed in the airport for hours and roamed around on the trains and through the terminals. Small got into line to attempt to board two other flights and appeared to take steps towards the jetway before turning around walking away, according to the police report.

Port of Seattle police say airport cameras captured Small sneaking through the TSA checkpoint.

According to the arrest report, she went to Checkpoint three around 9:00 p.m. on Dec. 23 and slipped through a line divider to cut to the front of the line.

#komo #komonews #komo4 #komo4news #seattle #seattlenews #washingtonnews #tsa #airport #seatac #stowaway #airplane #security #airportsecurity #faa #hawaii #delta #flight Hawaii

Jeremy Harris

[grahamdodds]

Airport security has failed in two recent cases from the USA. What is going on?

[ScaryNda]

who would have though people who are allowed to sneak into the country illegally would think that it is ok to break the law

[terriseaton]

Is anyone aware she got out of the bathroom, pass Cops, before boarding? Cops didn’t notice either!!!

[internetcomment]

Homeless in seattle then to Hawaii?! Glow up