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Former Department of Energy official Sam Brinton received little more than a slap on the wrist for stealing a fashion designer’s luggage in 2018.

Despite being charged with grand larceny, a felony carrying a potential sentence of up to 20 years in lockup, Brinton reportedly ended up taking a plea deal that allowed him to plead guilty to petit larceny, a misdemeanor. The charges stemmed from a theft of Tasmanian fashion designer Asya Khamsin’s luggage at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, after which it is claimed that Brinton publically wore some of the “custom” outfits she had within the luggage.

Prosecutors reportedly decided at the Arlington General District Court last week that Brinton would be avoiding jail time, instead opting to slap him with 50 hours of community service assisting the elderly, mandatory mental health treatment, and having him write an apology letter to his victim.

According to The Washington Free Beacon, this deal means Brinton has successfully avoided serving any sort of jail time in the three cases where he was charged with luggage theft.

A spokeswoman for Arlington County commonwealth’s attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti released a statement on the decision, which is being criticized as a “sweetheart deal.”

“The resolution we came to is supported by the facts and circumstances of the case as a whole,” it read. “Unfortunately, since this case remains pending, we are prohibited from commenting further.”

Social media weighed in on the punishment:

Sierra Marlee
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