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05/02/2024 07:01:16 am

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Woman Arrested For Sneaking Onto Flights Without a Ticket

lax airport

(Photo : Reuters) Passengers with their baggage move through the check-in area at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), in Los Angeles, California April 24, 2013.

She is known as the "Serial Stowaway". Marilyn Hartman was arrested again on Monday after sneaking onto a flight from Minnesota to Florida without a ticket. 

The 63-year-old Hartman was charged with fraud, impersonation, defrauding an innkeeper, and trespassing, according to the Nassau County Sheriff's Office. 

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Authorities said Hartman boarded the flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Jacksonville International Airport.  Upon her arrival, Hartman took a shuttle bus to the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Hotel. She checked in at one of the resort's US$300 villa under a false name.

However, hours after Hartman checked in, the real guest showed up, and Hartman could no longer be found. She was arrested the following day inside a ground floor room that was under renovation.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is now reviewing airports' surveillance cameras to find out how Hartman was able to board the plane without a ticket. 

Hartman has had a history of sneaking onto flights without purchasing tickets.  In August, she was arrested after taking a Southwest Airlines flight from San Jose to Los Angeles. She later pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to two years of probation. 

The Serial Stowaway was again found wandering around Los Angeles International Airport. She was ordered to spend 117 days in jail for violating her probation but was later released due to prison overcrowding.

In February 2014, Hartman was also arrested for attempting to board three Hawaii flights at the San Francisco International Airport on three separate occasions. She was sentenced to 18 months of probation in San Mateo County.

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