Woman jailed after wild ride at NLV airport

Mary Manning and Jace Radke

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 | 11:26 a.m.

A 33-year-old Las Vegas woman was arrested Monday after she stole a National Guard vehicle and then an aircraft tug, which she drove around the North Las Vegas Airport, police said.

The incident has officials working on making the airport more secure.

Police were called to the airport at 12:56 p.m. by airport security after a woman, identified as Jennifer Mayfield, had crashed the National Guard vehicle into a fence, North Las Vegas police spokesman Tim Bedwell said.

After the crash, Mayfield got behind the wheel of a tug used to tow aircraft and started driving that around until airport security guards nabbed her, Bedwell said.

"It's kind of bizarre," Bedwell said of the incident. Mayfield wasn't trying to hurt anyone or interfere with any of the aircraft at the general aviation airport, Bedwell said.

Police don't know why the woman entered the airport or why she took a Chevrolet Camaro used by the Nevada National Guard's counter-drug division and then rode around on the tug, Bedwell said.

No one was injured in the pursuit or capture of the woman.

Mayfield is believed to have made her way on to airport property through an unsecured gate controlled by a charter service that is a tenant at the airport, officials said. The gate was located near the Cheyenne Air Center, an area that houses tenants, including the National Guard's drug reduction team, along the north end of the airport.

Once inside she took a Camaro painted with anti-drug messages used by the National Guard at assemblies and events at local schools to help get out the message of staying off drugs, said 1st Lt. April Conway, a spokeswoman with the Nevada National Guard.

The Camaro is kept inside the National Guard's hangar at the airport. The hangar, which is home to National Guard drug interdiction helicopters, is usually open to the airfield during normal business hours, Conway said.

The car is kept with the keys inside, so it can be quickly moved out of the hangar in the event of a fire, Conway said.

A tenant next door to the National Guard hangar reportedly saw Mayfield poking around the hangar, and told Mayfield that the car was the National Guard's. Mayfield reportedly responded, "they're not guarding it now," Conway said.

Mayfield crashed the car into a fence, and then took a tug and began driving it aimlessly, law enforcement officials said.

The Camaro, which was donated to the drug interdiction team, did suffer some front-end damage, Conway said.

Mayfield was booked into the North Las Vegas Detention Center on charges of burglary, grand larcency of an auto, malicious destruction of private property and possession of stolen property, Bedwell said.

Mayfield had no prior arrest records in Southern Nevada, Bedwell said.

The Clark County Department of Aviation has launched an investigation to find out just how the woman got onto the property, department spokeswoman Elaine Sanchez said.

"We've never had a problem like this," Sanchez said. "It's unique. I'm glad that security apprehended her."

Security measures that may be taken to secure the gate Mayfield gained access through could include a punch lock with a number reader, Sanchez said.

"We'll make sure it never happens again," Sanchez said.

Aviation Department officials said that there are security guards and measures in place at the airport, but wouldn't divulge specifics due to security concerns. The airport is surrounded by chain link fencing topped with barbed wire.

The airport also houses the Metro Police helicopter unit.