Richmond Man Sentenced to Seven Years for Stealing Truck with White House Audio and Visual Equipment

RICHMOND, VA—Eric Brown, 49, of Richmond, Virginia, was sentenced today to seven years in prison for stealing a truck that contained audio and visual equipment belonging to the Office of the President of the United States.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; David E. Beach, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Washington Field Office; Jeffrey C. Mazanec, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; D.A. Middleton, Chief of Police for the Henrico County Police Division; and Col. Thierry G. Dupuis, Chief of Police for Chesterfield County, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge John A. Gibney.

Court documents show that on October 16, 2011, a truck containing audio equipment utilized by the president of the United States during public appearances was reported stolen in Henrico County. The theft occurred at a hotel a few days prior to a speaking engagement that the president was attending in Central Virginia. Video surveillance from the hotel depicted a dark-colored SUV driving into the hotel lot. Shortly thereafter, the truck containing the president’s equipment was driven off of the lot. Immediately thereafter, a dark-colored SUV followed the truck containing the president’s equipment off of the hotel lot. This truck contained a laptop computer and other audio visual equipment bearing the presidential seal, all of which had a value of approximately $200,000.

As a part of the plea, Brown admitted to telling others about his role in the theft, selling the laptop, and possessing audio visual equipment that still bore the presidential seal. Additional facts in support of Brown’s guilty plea included cell tower data obtained by investigators that showed Brown was in the vicinity of the truck at the time it was stolen. Some of the equipment was recovered from pawn shops in Prince George’s County, Maryland and in Montgomery County, Maryland.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, the Henrico County Police Department, and the Chesterfield Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Roderick C. Young prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.