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Nine year old kid steals car, then sneaks onto plane.


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Boy, 9, takes flight in car, then hops jets

Lakewood runaway was headed to Dallas

 

 

100booker.jpg

By COLIN McDONALD

P-I REPORTER

 

A 9-year-old runaway's plane-hopping journey from Lakewood to Dallas fell short Wednesday with prosecutors back home filing felony charges -- and Southwest Airlines officials scrambling to explain how the boy got through their terminals and onto two planes.

 

"He might be a little more sophisticated than your average 9-year-old," said Fred Wist, chief prosecutor for Pierce County's juvenile division. Semaj Booker's strange adventure began Sunday afternoon when he stole a 1986 Acura that had been left running in front of a neighbor's house.

 

Police spotted the boy on state Route 512 near the Interstate 5 interchange and gave chase when he refused to pull over. The pursuit hit speeds of 80 to 90 mph and ended when the Acura's engine blew out while the car exited the highway.

 

"He just coasted to a stop and bumped into a tree," Lakewood police Lt. David Guttu said.

 

Officers had to smash one of the car's windows because Semaj refused to unlock the doors and come out.

 

Because of his age, officials at Pierce County's Juvenile Detention Center refused to admit Semaj. So police took him back to his mother's house.

 

Early the next morning, though, Semaj took off again. He slipped out of his suburban Tacoma home and somehow made it to Sea-Tac Airport, where he sailed through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint.

 

Authorities say the boy managed to lie his way onto two flights, aiming to get to his native Texas.

 

"Everything he is doing is designed to get him to Dallas," Guttu said. "That is what he calls home."

 

 

 

Southwest Airlines is still trying to figure out how the 4-foot-9, 80-pound youth was able to fly from Seattle to San Antonio with a plane change in Phoenix without drawing the attention of airline workers.

Airline spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said Semaj approached the Southwest ticket counter Monday morning. He said he had lost his boarding pass and his mother was already in the boarding area.

 

"The young man's information matched a paid, ticketless reservation for the flight. Based on the information he gave us, he was issued a boarding pass," the airline said in a statement Wednesday.

 

Southwest's policy for unaccompanied minors only applies to 5- to 11-year-olds, and Semaj -- apparently having done his homework -- told the agent at the ticket counter that he was 12.

 

"We don't know how he got the information he gave," McInnis said.

 

With the boarding pass in hand, Semaj walked through a TSA security checkpoint, no questions asked. Only adult passengers, 18 and older, are required to carry picture identification, said TSA spokeswoman Jennifer Marty-Peppin.

 

She said there was no security breach: Making sure customers get on the right plane is the airline's problem.

 

Once in San Antonio, Semaj tried to board a third plane bound for Dallas, but Southwest employees stopped him at the gate when he couldn't produce a proper boarding pass or provide correct information, said David Hebert, a spokesman for San Antonio International Airport.

 

Southwest staffers initially thought the boy was lost, but when they realized he was lying, they called airport police.

 

After he again gave false information about his age, name and where he had come from, he was taken to the San Antonio police station. There, officers found he fit the description of a missing-person report his mother had filed with Lakewood police.

 

Semaj was temporarily placed in a boys' home and registered as a runaway.

 

He was charged Wednesday in Pierce County with car theft and attempting to elude police, both felonies, and driving without a license. But he likely won't be prosecuted.

 

Wist opted not to issue an arrest warrant, saying he needs more information about the mother's decision to move back to Texas.

 

Sakinah Booker told The News Tribune that her son doesn't like the neighborhood and is afraid of a sex offender who lives nearby. "He does not like it at all," she said.

 

She said she hoped to move her four sons back to Dallas soon.

 

"It may very well be that he is where he wants to be," Wist said. "And with a follow-through on the move, that might be the best thing to happen right now."

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That's crazy driving at 80-90 at 9 years old without crashing.

 

I fucking sucked when I 1st started driving, and I was 15/16.

 

Would have been awesome if he made it back home.

 

Good thing I couldn't bring my water and books on the plane when I flew, I mean, they are obviously doing everything possible to keep us safe.

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