Perry native suspected in summer luggage thefts

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Perry native Sam Brinton is a suspect in two luggage thefts from airports that occurred last summer in Las Vegas and Minneapolis. Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy

LAS VEGAS — An arrest warrant was issued Thursday in Clark County District Court in Nevada for a Perry native suspected of stealing luggage from a Las Vegas airport last summer.

Samuel Brinton faces a charge of grand larceny, with items valued between $1,200 and $5,000, according to court records. The 2006 Perry High School graduate served as a deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy but has reportedly been on leave since November.

According to court records, the Las Vegas incident took place July 6 at the Harry Reid International Airport. The victim filed a police report July 10, estimating the value of the lost items at $3,670.

In a separate case, Brinton is suspected of stealing a suitcase with contents worth $2,325 from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Sept. 16, according to a criminal complaint filed Oct. 27 in Hennepin County District Court.

Brinton is scheduled to appear at a court hearing Dec. 19 in the Minnesota case.

Brinton was appointed last January as the deputy assistant secretary of spent fuel and waste disposition in the Office of Nuclear Energy for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Rockville, Maryland, resident has also served as the director of global political affairs for Deep Isolation, one of the nation’s only nuclear waste start-ups.

Brinton earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2011 from Kansas State University and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering and technology and policy in 2013 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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