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United Airlines gate agent, Rafael Magana, accused of taking $130K in jewels from luggage

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DENVER -- A United Airlines gate agent is accused of stealing $130,000 in jewelry from a passenger's luggage.

A woman flying from Aspen to Denver on Aug. 8 told police that when she got off the plane and claimed her checked bag, a gray-colored cosmetic case was missing. The woman said the cosmetic case contained several pieces of jewelry with a total value of $130,000, according to the probable cause statement obtained by Denver7.

Denver police said the case was investigated for two days.

"During the investigation, a video was recovered from the airport surveillance system showing the suspect, now known as United Airlines gate agent Rafael Magana, taking possession of the gray-colored cosmetic case at Gate B #89 and intentionally wrapping the case with a white piece of paper," police said.

The probable cause statement said Magana went to a coffee shop, put the case in a brown paper bag and left with the paper bag and cosmetic case.

Magana was arrested on a theft charge on August 11.

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