Sam Brinton almost got away with it. Back in July of last year a woman reported her checked bag had disappeared at the Las Vegas airport.

Police then reviewed security camera footage and observed “a white male adult wearing a white T-shirt with a large rainbow colored atomic nuclear symbol design” removing baggage that matched the victim’s description of her missing bag before quickly exiting the airport. However, following a brief investigation, detectives closed the case after they were unable to identify the suspect.

That would have been the end of it if not for the fact that in September Brinton was accused of a similar theft in Minnesota and that story eventually made headlines.

Sam Brinton, a senior Energy Department (DOE) official, was charged with stealing a traveler’s luggage in the Minneapolis airport in September, shortly before quietly taking a leave of absence.

After the suitcase’s owner alerted police, officers reviewed video surveillance of the carousel and identified Brinton taking the luggage before removing its tag identifying the owner, the court filings stated. Law enforcement observed Brinton using the luggage during at least two other trips to Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18 and Oct. 9.

Then, on Oct. 9, Brinton denied stealing anything when a police officer called to discuss the incident. Brinton confirmed still possessing the suitcase.

Brinton was charged with a felony in that case and when it finally made news in late November stories about were everywhere.

Upon viewing news articles about the Minnesota charges, the officer who had closed the Las Vegas case months earlier “immediately recognized” Brinton “as the suspect pertaining to this case.”…

On Dec. 14, Brinton as booked by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on the outstanding arrest warrant in the case and released on bond.

Brinton’s last day at the Department of Energy was December 12. Today, Brinton accepted a plea deal in the Las Vegas case which resulted in a misdemeanor conviction and a suspended sentence, meaning no jail time.

Samuel Brinton, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, was given a 180-day suspended jail sentence for lifting a woman’s suitcase from Las Vegas‘ Harry Reid International Airport in July 2022, according to court records obtained by Fox 5.

As part of the plea deal, Brinton was charged with a misdemeanor instead of a felony.

A judge ordered them to pay $3,670.74 in restitution for the stolen luggage, which contained pricey jewelry, clothing and makeup.

It’s not unusual for judges to give first time offenders a break on the grounds that they aren’t likely to do it again, having learned their lesson from one bad experience. But in this case we already know that Brinton did do it again. He’s still facing charges in the Minneapolis theft and his next hearing in that case is next week. Granted he hasn’t been convicted yet but he has been charged.

The NY Post points out that Brinton has also been accused of a third luggage theft by a Houston fashion designer.

A Houston designer claims she had to cancel a fashion show after her bag full of the custom-made pieces was lost at a Washington DC airport – only for them to seemingly resurface years later being worn by former Department of Energy official Sam Brinton.

Asya Khamsin filed a lost luggage report after her bag containing 30 original designs disappeared from Ronald Reagan Washington Airport in DC on March 9, 2018, meaning she had to pull out of the planned show.

Several years later, the native Tanzanian designer stumbled on photographs of Brinton – who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns – wearing what appeared to be the same original custom dresses.

Maybe the judge in the Minneapolis case will take Brinton’s conviction in the Las Vegas case into account during sentencing. So far Brinton has barely received a slap on the wrist.