Lu Parker, KTLA Anchor, Agrees to Diversion Program for Alleged LAX Petty Theft

LOS ANGELES, CA -- KTLA news anchor Lu Parker has agreed to participate in a diversion program in connection with her arrest last month on suspicion of stealing a pair of headphones from a passenger-screening area at Los Angeles International Airport, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office said Friday.

"If successfully completed, no criminal charges will be filed," Frank Mateljan with the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office said. "Specific details about participation and outcome are confidential."

Frances Louise Parker, 48, of West Hollywood, was taken into custody on Nov. 2 at a Transportation Security Administration screening area in Terminal 6, according to Airport Police Officer Rob Pedregon. She was taken to the Los Angeles Police Department Pacific Station to be booked on suspicion of petty theft, he said.

Pedregon said Airport Police were called to the screening area on a report of "lost property."

"The suspect was located, the property was recovered and the victim executed a private person's arrest," Pedregon said.

Pedregon said Parker was identified through security video footage. She was on a flight to Kentucky when she was escorted off the plane, he said.

According to TMZ.com, Parker — the 1994 Miss USA pageant winner — took a pair of headphones valued at $200 from the TSA screening area and then walked to her gate and boarded her flight. The headphones were owned by an LAPD Robbery-Homicide detective, according to TMZ, which reported that Parker was taken off the plane by police.

Parker anchors the midday newscast on KTLA. In a statement released to the Los Angeles Times, the station called the incident a "misunderstanding." Both KTLA and the Times are owned by Tronc.

“She picked them up intending to return them to the owner whom she had been speaking with while in line to clear TSA,” KTLA said in a statement.

When she couldn't find the person, she boarded her flight, the station said.

“We believe this is a misunderstanding, Lu is cooperating fully with the authorities and we are confident she will be able to clear this all up,” KTLA said.

According to KTLA, Parker was visiting her father, who is ill. Parker previously dated then-Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

— City News Service contributed to this report. Photo via YouTube screengrab.