Biden official accused of stealing luggage from airport; warrant issued, police say

LAS VEGAS (KVVU/Gray News) - A Biden administration official is accused of stealing luggage from a Las Vegas airport over the summer.

KVVU reports that a warrant has been issued for Samuel Brinton this week for a charge of grand larceny, with the value of the item between $1,200 and $5,000.

Brinton currently serves as a deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Energy.

The warrant describes the incident in question as taking place at Harry Reid International Airport on July 6.

According to Las Vegas police, a person was taking a United Airlines flight from Dulles International and had checked three bags. The woman was able to find two of her bags, but couldn’t locate the third.

The female traveler reportedly checked with lost and found multiple times, but the luggage wasn’t located. She filed a police report on July 10.

Authorities said they reviewed security camera footage and saw a person wearing a white T-shirt with a rainbow atomic nuclear symbol on the front grab luggage matching the description of the missing bag and quickly leave the airport.

The officer in the report said the suspect displayed several “body language [anomalies]” that “caught his attention.”

Police noted the suspect looked at the luggage tag of the bag in question, and briefly placed it back on the carousel before looking around and grabbing the bag again.

However, police were unable to positively identify the suspect after searching a passenger manifest.

According to authorities, the case was reopened on Nov. 29 after several news articles were posted about Brinton allegedly stealing luggage at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on Sept. 16. The articles had photos of Brinton, who the officer recognized from the Las Vegas case.

The officer in the case also identified an Instagram post by Brinton that showed a visit to Harry Reid International Airport on July 6, the same day as the reported theft.

The officer said Brinton was also seen wearing the same T-shirt as seen in the surveillance video.

According to police, they tried to contact Brinton via phone but received no response.

The woman said several items of value were in her lost bag, including jewelry, clothing, makeup and other items. Police estimated the value of the items at $3,670.74.

Las Vegas police said there was probable cause that Brinton had stolen the bag and a warrant was issued for Brinton’s arrest.

Brinton was reportedly placed on leave after the allegations in the Minneapolis case were made public.

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