TSA Agent Helps Thwart Wanted Criminal From Passing Security Checkpoint

A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer is being celebrated for helping catch a man convicted of manslaughter.

According to the official website of the TSA, the unnamed agent was working the security checkpoint at Richmond International Airport last week when a male traveler presented her with an identification card believed to be fake.

The officer asked the man about the ID, but he couldn’t explain why it looked tampered with, so she called on a TSA supervisor and manager to help handle the situation. The agents called the Richmond International Airport Police Department, who arrested him and transferred him to Henrico County for processing and identification.

“The TSA officer used her training and diligence in identifying a person who was not who he claimed to be and turned out he was wanted by law enforcement nationally,” Richmond TSA Federal Security Director Chuck Burke said in a statement.

“Our officer did exactly what she was supposed to do—questioned the validity of the ID and called for assistance,” Burke continued. “It turned out indeed it was a false ID because the man did not want his true identity known.”

The man would not tell police his actual name and was eventually released after being charged with forgery and using a false ID. Police later found out the traveler was wanted in Jackson, Mississippi, where he was serving a 20-year prison sentence for manslaughter.

Authorities said he was mistakenly released from prison and on the run. The next day, the U.S. Marshal Service apprehended the individual and returned him to Mississippi.