Houston baggage handler pleads guilty to officer gun theft

Federal prosecutors say a 22-year-old man working as a contract baggage handler at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport has pleaded guilty to stealing guns last year from the luggage of three Bellevue, Washington, police officers.

Mack Stewart faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine at his sentencing hearing set for Sept. 11. Stewart entered his guilty plea Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan. He remains free on bond pending sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick says the three officers had returned home to Washington Oct. 4 on a United Airlines flight from Houston to Seattle when they discovered their service weapons missing. About a month later, Stewart was found with one of the guns when he was pulled over for a traffic stop.

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