Former Department of Energy (DOE) official Sam Brinton was arrested on May 31, 2023 by Maryland police for allegedly fleeing justice.  

Per county records that Fox News analyzed, Brinton was taken into custody in Rockville, Maryland.

According to a Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Police spokesperson, Brinton’s arrest was connected to an incident of airport luggage theft. This is the third criminal case Brinton has been implicated in.

Brinton gained national attention in 2022. He was appointed to a key position at the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy as a non-binary gender-fluid person.

His arrest came a month after he eluded jail time in two instances in Minnesota and Nevada that involved the theft of luggage. 

Brinton received theft charges in October after stealing a traveler’s baggage from the luggage carousel at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2023.

He flew in from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at the time when he stole a total of $2,325 in luggage. 

On top of that, in early December, prosecutors in Las Vegas slapped Brinton with charges of grand larceny of an item with a monetary value between $1,200 and $5,000.

Police alleged that Brinton stole a suitcase with a total estimated value of $3,670 on July 6 at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. The bag was filled with jewelry valued at $1,700, clothing valued at $850, and makeup valued at $500.

For the two theft cases, Brinton is potentially facing up to 15 years in prison. That said, in both cases, the judges determined that jail time was not necessary.

In another notable case that took place in February, a Tanzanian female fashion designer living in Houston accused Brinton of wearing her clothes packed in luggage that she reported to airport authorities as missing in 2018.

Houston police subsequently referred this case to the FBI. Back on December 12, the DOE announced that Brinton left the agency, but refused to comment on the nature of his exit.