Man charged with stealing 100+ flat-screen TVs from Fort Belvoir

A Fredericksburg man has been arrested on charges of stealing more than 100 flat-screen televisions from Fort Belvoir.

Stephen Don Carter, 36, was charged in federal court in Alexandria with theft of government property.

Carter posted a $50,000 bail, and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 1. If convicted, Carter faces up to 10 years in prison, according to federal sentencing guidelines.

Prosecutors said Carter was friends with Michael A. Cook, a stockroom manager of the Post Exchange at Fort Belvoir, and approached Cook last year about stealing and selling flat-screen televisions. Cook had worked at the PX for 10 years.

In March or April 2008, Cook loaded about 25 televisions by hand or forklift into a PX delivery truck. Prosecutors said he drove a short distance from the Army base to a service road near the intersection of Fairfax County Parkway and Interstate 95.

Cook and Carter then transferred the televisions to a large rental truck hired by Carter. Prosecutors said Carter paid Cook about $4,500 in cash.

The scheme seemed successful enough that Carter and Cook repeated the theft three more times that year, stealing 102 flat-screen televisions in all, prosecutors said.

But in December, Fort Belvoir security officials said, they watched Cook on video surveillance loading a large number of flat-screen televisions on the delivery truck, locking the cargo door and securing it with a seal. The next morning, they observed him drive the truck out of the PX parking lot and return about 30 minutes later, according to court filings.

After the security officials checked the truck and found that the truck was empty, they confronted Cook, who admitted to stealing the televisions, prosecutors said. He told investigators that he was paid about $4,000 for each job, prosecutors said.

Cook was charged in federal court last month with theft of government property.

(Copyright 2009 by The Examiner. All Rights Reserved.)