Marilyn Hartman has a problem.

Since 2014, she has tried her luck one too many times, attempting to sneak onto planes at various airports around the US.

Last week was her first international adventure, though, as she made it all the way to London.

Without a ticket or passport, Hartman, 66, entered Chicago O’Hare International Airport on January 14, reports the New York Times:

Airport surveillance video showed her moving through O’Hare without a boarding pass or passport, officials said.

First, she walked past two Transportation Security Administration officers while they were checking the boarding passes of other passengers, Tandra R. Simonton, a spokeswoman for the Cook County State’s Attorney, said in a phone interview on Sunday.

“She hid her face with her hair and walked past the officers without presenting proper documentation to board a flight,” Ms. Simonton said.

After Ms. Hartman joined the security line and was screened by the T.S.A., she tried to board a flight to Connecticut around 2 p.m., attempting to conceal herself behind a passenger who was waiting in line, Ms. Simonton said. As Ms. Hartman tried to dart past the passenger, the gate agent stopped her, and directed her to sit down, Ms. Simonton said.

You’d think that meant she was caught, but the next day rolled around and she was back at it:

Prosecutors said Ms. Hartman stayed overnight at the airport, and the next day she approached a shuttle bus headed for the international gate.

“This shuttle requires a passport and plane ticket to board,” Ms. Simonton said, but despite having neither document, Ms. Hartman boarded the shuttle.

According to the police, she then got on a flight that landed at Heathrow Airport in London, where she was detained by British customs officials and denied entry into the United Kingdom.

When she arrived in the United States on Thursday, she was charged with one felony count of theft and one misdemeanor for trespassing.

Naughty naughty.

Appearing in court on Saturday, Judge Stephanie K. Miller ordered Hartman to be released, as long as she received “psychiatric help, stayed away from O’Hare and British Airways and wore an ankle monitor until her case was concluded”.

Below are pictures of Hartman in police custody [clockwise from upper left] in 2018, 2016, 2015 and 2014

Incidents before this one weren’t as international, however.

Convicted of misdemeanours for criminal trespassing at O’Hare four times in recent years, this is her first felony charge:

In addition to her arrests in Illinois, Ms. Hartman has also been arrested in Arizona, California and Florida. During a 2016 hearing in Chicago, prosecutors said she had been stopped by the police on airport properties a dozen times in different parts of the country, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Prosecutors in California in 2015 reported an even higher number, saying she had attempted to breach airport security at least 18 times, according to San Francisco magazine.

Addicted, I tell you.

Judge William Raines ordered her to spend six months at a mental health treatment centre, saying:

“There’s no more feeling sorry for you,” Judge Raines said, according to The Chicago Tribune. “I think you’re addicted to the attention.”

So harsh – she’s probably just super lonely.

[source:nytimes]