Airport Police

Mark R. Madler A former Bob Hope Airport police officer is suing the airport authority, the city and her former boss, alleging she was unfairly fired when she rejected unwanted advances by a female supervisor while off duty. Elaine Ruiz, who filed the lawsuit on July 8 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, is seeking unspecified monetary damages for loss of earnings, back pay and emotional distress. The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, the city of Burbank and Sgt. Sheri Dillon were named as the defendants in the lawsuit.

Carrol Parris, wife of Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris, was cited Thursday for carrying a loaded firearm at the Burbank Bob Hope Airport. At 6:25 a.m., airport police officers were called to a TSA checkpoint because an X-ray check of her carry-on bag showed an image of a handgun inside. Carrol Parris acknowledged that the bag and loaded firearm belonged  to her, according to airport police. The handgun was registered to Parris, but the registration had expired in April, according to a police report.

Ryan Carter AIRPORT DISTRICT -- Handguns, paint ball guns, hypodermic needles, knives, jokes and drugs -- you name it, local airport police have seen or heard it, even after Sept. 11. With the publicity about baggage checks and National Guard patrols at airports since the terrorist attacks, authorities at the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport are sometimes bewildered by the materials people try to pass through baggage checks and screening points.

Ryan Carter AIRPORT DISTRICT -- A 62-year-old Agoura man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of grabbing an airport security screener as she patted him down. The 20-year-old screener, who was performing a routine screening, asked if he would consent to hand search. He did, Burbank Police Sgt. John Dilibert said. But as she patted him down from his backside, he lifted his arms behind him, grabbed her and pulled her toward his waist, Dilibert said.

Ben Godar The attorney representing a developer engaged in a dispute over a crosswalk closure at Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport said he will ask a judge to throw out tickets issued by airport police. Al Augustini, who represents Zelman Development Co., owner of a private parking lot that borders the airport, said he and five others who have been cited -- including Thousand Oaks city officials -- plan to go before a judge next month to get the tickets thrown out. Augustini said he received a ticket after asking an officer on patrol about the citations being handed out. "He said, 'If you want to know what kind of tickets I'm writing, you're going to have to step off that curb,' " Augustini said.

BOB HOPE AIRPORT — A 47-year-old woman who authorities said tried to smuggle nearly 22 pounds of cocaine through a security checkpoint at Bob Hope Airport is scheduled to appear Oct. 6 in Los Angeles Superior Court. Cecilley Grant, of Queens, N.Y., was transferred to Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, where she has been held in lieu of $1-million bail. Grant pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony counts related to possessing, selling and transferring cocaine after airport police arrested her Sunday, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Ryan Carter With high-profile television and film studios on one side of the city and a busy commuter airport on the other, security in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001 has changed here. "The city took action to bring together many critical areas we thought would be most vulnerable," Assistant City Manager Mary Alvord said about the ongoing local response after the attacks in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Those areas include the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport and the studios.

Police in Burbank say that a man's claim that he was shot while driving on the 5 Freeway does not appear to hold up. The driver of a silver Mercedes coupe told police that he was fired upon early Friday while driving in the northbound lanes of the 5 Freeway, KTLA-TV reported . He was apparently speeding down Hollywood Way, near the Bob Hope Airport, when airport police pulled him over and noticed he had been shot. The victim, described only as a Latino male, was taken to an area hospital with what were described as non-life-threatening injuries.

A Studio City man with a loaded gun in his carry on luggage was arrested Thursday afternoon, police said. The man, identified as Jeffrey Anythony Dellisanti, 52, was traveling from Burbank Bob Hope Airport to Sacramento when a security screening showed what appeared to be a handgun in a piece of luggage at about 1:20 p.m., Sgt. Darin Ryburn said. Airport police spoke to Dellisanti who confirmed the bag was his, but allegedly denied having the gun.  Officers opened the luggage and found a 357 Magnum loaded with six rounds.

Carrol Parris, wife of Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris, was cited Thursday for carrying a loaded firearm at the Burbank Bob Hope Airport. At 6:25 a.m., airport police officers were called to a TSA checkpoint because an X-ray check of her carry-on bag showed an image of a handgun inside. Carrol Parris acknowledged that the bag and loaded firearm belonged  to her, according to airport police. The handgun was registered to Parris, but the registration had expired in April, according to a police report.

A 14-year-old autistic boy who was reported missing after leaving a flight at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank was found unharmed Wednesday evening in West Hollywood, authorities said. Cameron James Smith was found by airport police about 6 p.m. in the 8900 block of Santa Monica Boulevard, said Sgt. Brian Lutz of the West Hollywood Sheriff's station. Lutz said his deputies were notified by the officers and responded to the scene and confirmed that the boy was not harmed. "He was in good condition," Lutz told The Times.

Youths enrolled in the city's Summer Daze day camp learned how airport police and fire departments handle emergencies and fight crime during a tour of Bob Hope Airport on Wednesday. Police officers demonstrated the T3 electric stand-up vehicle's siren and flashing lights. Its three-wheel design boasts a tiny turning circle, which makes it easy to maneuver small spaces. “We can use it inside and outside the airport terminal and on sidewalks,” said Sgt. Tom Davenport, of the airport police department.

A 31-year-old man who police said tried to smuggle more than 50 pounds of marijuana in checked luggage pleaded not guilty to felony drug charges Friday. Following his plea in Burbank Superior Court, Clarence Williams, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was taken to a Los Angeles County jail facility, where he is being held in lieu of $75,000 bail. Officers arrested Williams at Bob Hope Airport on Wednesday night after one of his two suitcases triggered an alarm as it passed through screening devices, police said.

BOB HOPE AIRPORT — A 47-year-old woman who authorities said tried to smuggle nearly 22 pounds of cocaine through a security checkpoint at Bob Hope Airport is scheduled to appear Oct. 6 in Los Angeles Superior Court. Cecilley Grant, of Queens, N.Y., was transferred to Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, where she has been held in lieu of $1-million bail. Grant pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony counts related to possessing, selling and transferring cocaine after airport police arrested her Sunday, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.