CHICAGO – A California man who told police the coronavirus epidemic has left him fearful of flying has been arrested on charges he had been hiding in a safe area at Chicago’s O’Rour International Airport for three months.
Itya 36-year-old Aditya Singh has been arrested on Saturday on charges of criminal offense and theft of a misdemeanor in a restricted area of the airport. At a court hearing on Sunday, a judge ruled that Orange, a California man, could be released if he paid $ 1,000, but said Singh was banned from setting foot in the airport.
Singh remained in the Cook County Jail until Monday morning.
Assistant Public Defender Courtney Smallwood said Singh has no criminal record. She also said it was unclear why Singh, who is unemployed, came to Chicago or had a connection to the area.
During the hearing, Auxiliary States Attorney Clathlin Hagerty said Singh was found by two United Airlines employees who asked him for identification, the Chicago Tribune reports. Singh took off his mask and showed a badge that actually belonged to the airport’s operations operations manager who reported him missing in late October.
Employees called the police, who took Singh into custody. Singh was “scared to go home because of Kovid,” Haggerty said, and told officers he would find the badge, and other passengers at the airport offered him a meal.
Before Singh was granted bail, Cook County Judge Susanna Ortiz was clearly in trouble that no one could stay in a safe area at the airport for so long without anyone noticing.
“These facts and circumstances in court seem very shocking which seems very shocking for the duration of this period,” the judge said. “Being in a safe part of the airport under a fake ID badge, based on the need to keep airports completely safe, so that people feel safe traveling, I think this alleged move makes it dangerous for the community.”
Singh is scheduled to return to court on January 27.
