Disgraced former Biden Energy Department official Samuel Brinton reportedly agreed in court this week to undergo a mental health evaluation as part of an adult diversion program in the felony baggage theft case that he faces in Minnesota.
Brinton was originally charged with felony theft in two separate cases late last year for allegedly stealing luggage from Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport and Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
FOX 9 reported that as part of the adult diversion program, Brinton is required to apologize to the victim, return any stolen property, and complete community service. The program could lead to the case against Brinton being dismissed altogether, the report said.
Brinton reportedly flew into Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport with American Airlines from Washington, D.C., on September 16. According to the complaint, Brinton traveled without a checked bag, indicating he had no purpose to claim a bag after landing.
The complaint alleges Brinton left the airport in an Uber and checked into the InterContinental St. Paul Riverfront hotel with the blue bag.
Brinton returned to MSP two days later, on September 18, and flew back to Washington, D.C., with the same bag.
Records and video surveillance showed the suitcase belonged to a female passenger who flew into the MSP on a Delta flight from New Orleans. According to a report, she notified law enforcement that her bag and the contents inside — valued at around $2,325 — had gone missing in the baggage claim area on the same day Brinton allegedly took the luggage.
Nearly three weeks later, the criminal complaint alleges, video surveillance footage from Dulles International Airport in Virginia captured Brinton returning from Europe with the bag on October 9.
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Authorities contacted Brinton that same day, asking if he “took anything that did not belong” to him.
“Not that I know of,” Brinton allegedly responded, but later admitted he took the bag.
“If I had taken the wrong bag, I am happy to return it, but I don’t have any clothes for another individual. That was my clothes when I opened the bag,” he told police, according to the complaint.
He allegedly called authorities two hours later and apologized for not being “completely honest,” adding he took the bag thinking it was his in a state of exhaustion. The complaint also alleges Brinton realized it wasn’t his bag after opening it up at the hotel, at which point he “got nervous” and “didn’t know what to do.”
It now appears as though he could have the felony charge in Minnesota dropped, which comes after he pled “no contest” last week after being charged in December for allegedly stealing luggage at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
Eight News Now reported that Brinton agreed to pay the victim more than $3,500 in restitution and received a suspended 180-day jail sentence, meaning that he will serve no time behind bars assuming he can stay out of trouble.