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Story highlights
- Some passengers' flights were diverted, but their bags weren't, after the crash of Flight 214
- A prosecutor says a United employee and his fiance stole some of the piled-up bags
- The fiancee exchanged some of the bags' contents for $5,000 at Nordstrom, DA adds
- The 2 are charged on three felony counts apiece; they're both free on bail
In the hubbub at San Francisco's airport following the crash of Asiana Flight 214, a United airlines employee and his fiancee allegedly stole luggage and exchanged some of its contents at a nearby Nordstrom for cash, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
The two suspects -- Sean Crudup, a United customer service representative, and Raychas Thomas, his fiancee -- were arrested as the latter was catching a flight to Hawaii, the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office said in a news release.
Both are free on bail.
The incident happened in the aftermath of the July 6 crash-landing of Flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport. Two people died right after the Boeing 777 shed parts, spun and burst into flames and another died six days later; about 180 others were hurt.
Looking back at the Asiana crash 03:15
Asiana 214 passenger killed by vehicle 01:46
Koreans react to false Asian pilot names 02:28
Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – In this handout photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board, Asiana Airlines Flight 214 sits just off the runway at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday, July 7. The Boeing 777 coming from Seoul, South Korea, crashed on landing on Saturday, July 6. Three passengers, all girls, died as a result of the first notable U.S. air crash in four years.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – A photo showing the damaged interior of the aircraft was released by the NTSB on July 7. The flight carrying 291 passengers and 16 crew took off from Shanghai and stopped in Seoul before heading to San Francisco.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – An investigator photographs part of the landing gear at the crash site in a handout released on July 7. Investigators believe that the pilots were flying too slow and too low as they neared the airport on July 6.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – An investigator inspects the broken-off tail of the plane in a handout photo released July 7. The crash killed two people, injured 182 and forced the temporary closure of one of the country's largest airports.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – An investigator stands near the tail of the plane in a handout photo released on July 7. The NTSB has ruled out weather as a problem and said that conditions were right for a "visual landing."
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Investigators approach the crash in a handout photo released on July 7.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Fire crews attempt to quench the blaze on Saturday, July 6.
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Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Smoke rises from the crash site across the San Francisco Bay on July 6.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Asiana Airlines Flight 214 remains on the runway on July 6.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – A plane sits on the runway on July 6 while emergency crews tend to the crash site.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – A helicopter flies above the wreckage on July 6 as people observe from across the waters of San Francisco Bay.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Travelers at San Francisco International Airport look at the departures and arrivals board after Asiana Flight 214 crashed on July 6. The airport, located 12 miles south of downtown San Francisco, is California's second busiest, behind Los Angeles International.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Kevin Cheng talks on his phone as he waits in the terminal after Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash-landed on July 6. He said he was supposed to pick up students who were on board the flight from Seoul.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Passengers wait for the British Airways counter to reopen at San Francisco International Airport on July 6.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Police guard the Reflection Room at the San Francisco airport's international terminal, where passengers from Asiana Airlines Flight 214 were reportedly gathering after the crash landing on July 6.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – People are escorted from the Reflection Room at the San Francisco International Airport on July 6.
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Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Traffic backs up on U.S. Route 101 South in San Francisco on July 6. The Bay Area airport was closed to incoming and departing traffic after the crash, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
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Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – People look over the wreckage across a cove in San Francisco Bay on July 6.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Deborah Hersman, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, speaks to the press at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, before departing for San Francisco with an NTSB crew on July 6 to investigate the crash site.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – The San Francisco Giants observe a moment of silence for those killed and hurt in the crash before their baseball game on July 6 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Crews comb the end of a San Francisco airport runway following the crash landing on July 6.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – People in Seoul watch a news program reporting about the crash landing on July 6 in San Francisco. Asiana Airlines Flight 214 took off from Seoul earlier Saturday.
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Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – The plane crashed on July 6 around 11:30 a.m. (2:30 p.m. ET).
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Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – People walk past the wreckage of the plane's tail on July 6.
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Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – The burned-out plane remains on the runway on July 6. Passengers and crew members escaped down the emergency inflatable slides.
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Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Rescue workers tend to the crash site on July 6.
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Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Debris litters the runway on July 6.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Airport shuttles arrive on the scene after the crash landing.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Wreckage from the Boeing 777 lies on the tarmac on July 6.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Crews surround the remains of the plane on July 6.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Investigators pass the detached tail and landing gear of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 on July 6.
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Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – An aerial view shows the site of the crash landing between the runways on July 6.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Smoke rises from the crash site on July 6 at the airport in San Francisco.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – Fire crews work at the crash site at San Francisco International Airport on July 6.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – The Boeing 777 lies burned on the runway after it crashed landed on July 6.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – An aerial photo of the scene on July 6 shows the extent of the plane's damage.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – The burned-out plane sits surrounded by emergency vehicles on July 6.
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Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – CNN iReporter Amanda Painter took this photo while waiting at the San Francisco airport on July 6. The entire airport has shut down and flights diverted to other airports.
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Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – iReporter Val Vaden captured this photo while waiting in a departure lounge at the San Francisco airport on July 6. Val observed the billowing smoke and emergency responders' rush in.
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Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – iReporter Sven Duenwald was at home on July 6 when he saw smoke rising into the air near the San Francisco International Airport.
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Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – iReporter Timothy Clark was standing on the eighth floor of the Embassy Suites Airport Hotel when he heard a loud crashing sound from outside. "My daughter told me she heard a plane crash. I used my camera to get a clearer view and I could see a dust cloud. Then people running from the plane, then flames," he said.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – A photo provided to CNN by Eunice Bird Rah -- and shot by her father, who was a passenger on the plane -- shows flames and smoke bursting out of many of the aircraft's windows.
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Photos: Plane crash-lands in San Francisco
Plane crash-lands in San Francisco – David Eun, a passenger on Asiana Airlines Flight 214, posted this image to Path.com along with the message, "I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine, I'm ok. Surreal..." It was one of the first photographs taken after the crash.
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Thousands more were inconvenienced when departing and incoming air traffic at the airport was halted in the hours after the crash.
In some cases, incoming flights were diverted to other airports in California. Passengers' bags sometimes made it to San Francisco before they did, leading to a pileup of luggage.
That's where, according to the district attorney's office, the case against the suspects begins.
Surveillance video showed Crudup stealing bags and handing them to his fiancee and another unnamed woman, the prosecutor's office said.
Thomas exchanged valuable clothing that had been in the bags at a Nordstrom store in Pleasanton, California, for about $5,000, the district attorney's office said.
More of the victims' property was found during a search of the home that Crudup and Thomas shared, according to authorities.
Crudup and Thomas have been charged with one count each of grand theft and two counts each of commercial burglaries, District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said. Convictions on these charges -- all of them felonies -- carries a maximum sentence of 4 years and 4 months in prison.
Thomas posted bail "right away" and is set to appear in court August 26 for her arraignment, the district attorney notes. Her fiancee, Crudup, was in court last Friday, July 26, at which time he's pleaded not guilty. Wagstaffe didn't know the name of the court-appointed attorney assigned to Crudup, who posted $75,000 bail over the weekend.
In a statement to CNN on Tuesday, United said that it has "zero tolerance for any theft."
"We are assisting the San Francisco Police Department in this investigation," the airline said, "and this employee has been held out of service."