Man accused of taking car with a mother and child inside, stealing Florida airport employee's wallet

A Texas man accused of stealing an airport employee's wallet and cell phone and then taking a car with a child and mother inside is facing seven charges and a $150,000 bond, reports the Fort Myers News-Press, which is a part of the USA TODAY Network.

Addi Maqableh, 36, of Houston, was a ticketed passenger on a flight to Houston who had passed through TSA security Monday morning at Southwest Florida International Airport and was at The Dewars Restaurant in Concourse C.

A Lee County Port Authority report said Maqableh made off with an employee's wallet containing $2,500, her identification and eight credit cards and her cell phone. When the employee began yelling at him, Maqableh returned the phone but ran with the wallet.

Airport security video shows the employee alerting security who then chase Maqableh through the airport to exit door three in the upper level.

Outside at the airport departures area, the report said Maqableh jumped in the car of a family who was unloading luggage. A male and female adult and a young boy were standing by the car along with an older male who was helping to unload luggage when Maqableh strolls up and jumps in.

Security footage shows police running up as the car speeds off, causing the driver to fall off the vehicle. The report said the driver sustained cuts to his arm and head.

Additionally, the video shows a woman with the driver being dragged a short way before she climbed into the back seat of the car for her infant. 

The police report said Maqableh let the woman and baby out of the car unharmed a short distance away and then drove off. The woman and infant were brought back to the airport by another airport visitor.

The car Maqableh stole, a 2016 Toyota Avalon, spun out on Chamberlin Road, stalled and couldn't be restarted because the original driver had kept the electronic key fob.

Police tracked Maqableh to a hotel through the Uber driver who brought him to the airport. The Texas man was apprehended at 11:20 a.m. Monday at Woodsprings Suites on Colonial Boulevard with the assistance of the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

He remains in Lee County Jail facing seven charges, two for aggravated battery, two for kidnapping, and one each for robbery, larceny and vehicle theft on $150,000 bond. He  will be arraigned Feb. 24.

Texas business records show Maqableh had been president and CEO of Extra Super Loading Inc. in Pasadena, Texas. The company was registered in Texas in 2009 as a domestic for-profit corporation but is listed currently as inactive.

A misdemeanor theft charged filed against Maqableh in 2011 in Harris County, Texas, was dismissed in 2012.

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