Arkansas man admits to taking famous actress's laptop

NWA Democrat-Gazette/JASON IVESTER Actress Geena Davis speaks on May 3, 2017, during a panel at the Bentonville Film Festival called “Inclusion: Does That Mean Me” at the Record.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/JASON IVESTER Actress Geena Davis speaks on May 3, 2017, during a panel at the Bentonville Film Festival called “Inclusion: Does That Mean Me” at the Record.

BENTONVILLE -- A Fort Smith man admitted last week to stealing actress Geena Davis' laptop.

Gerardo Mancia-Hernandez, 67, pleaded guilty to theft of property lost, mislaid, delivered by mistake. Mancia-Hernandez pleaded guilty under a plea agreement his attorney, Aaron Cash, reached with prosecutors.

Davis' personal assistant reported in May to the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Police Department that Davis' laptop was missing, according to court documents.

Davis arrived at the airport at 3:15 p.m. May 1, and she was carrying her computer, according to a probable cause affidavit. Davis went to baggage claim and placed her laptop on a luggage cart so she could take a picture next to a poster for the Bentonville Film Festival, an event she helped co-found in 2015.

She realized she did not have her laptop when she arrived at the 21cC Hotel, and her assistant notified the airport's Police Department, according to court documents. The laptop was valued at $2,188, according to court documents.

Airport police officers reviewed security footage and saw a man take the luggage cart to the carousel and place his luggage on the cart, according to the affidavit. The video showed the man leaving the terminal without attempting to notify any airport staff about the laptop that was on the cart, according to court documents.

Circuit Judge Brad Karen accepted the plea agreement and Mancia-Hernandez's guilty plea.

Mancia-Hernandez was given a three-year suspended sentence, and he must perform 30 hours of community service.

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Metro on 11/21/2017

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