District Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison
For Series of Burglaries at Hospitals and University
- Defendant Stole Laptops, Personal Property -

     WASHINGTON - Chris S. King, 49, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to eight years in prison for three separate burglaries and a felony theft at area hospitals and a university, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.

     King was sentenced January 5, 2012 by the Honorable Robert E. Morin in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He pled guilty on October 28, 2011 to charges to three counts of second-degree burglary and one count of first-degree theft.

     According to the government’s evidence, the defendant frequently entered area hospitals and university buildings, often disguised as a worker, with the intent to steal items from inside the buildings. On July 29, 2010, at approximately 2 p.m., King entered Children’s National Medical Center, went into an unlocked office area, and took a laptop belonging to a doctor. At the time, he was wearing a hard hat, making it look like he was doing construction in the hospital. He returned to Children’s National Medical Center on Christmas Day of 2010 and took a book bag belonging to a visitor at the hospital. The book bag contained items including an iPod and a credit card. At the time, the defendant was carrying a gift package, looking like a visitor.

     On May 31, 2011, at approximately 9:35 a.m., King went into a closed room at George Washington University, and left carrying a green pocketbook that did not belong to him. At the time, he was dressed in black and was displaying a security-style radio.

     Finally, on August 11, 2011, at approximately 2:15 p.m., at Georgetown University Hospital, King grabbed a briefcase sitting under a chair in a treatment room of the pediatrics section. The briefcase belonged to a patient’s father, and he saw the defendant leaving the building with it. That man confronted the defendant, and he fled from the building and onto a Metrobus. Georgetown University Police apprehended King a short time later at 34th Street and Reservoir Road, NW, and took him back to the hospital. The complaining witness identified the defendant as the man who had taken his briefcase. A security-style radio was found on the defendant. By the time of his arrest, several local hospitals and universities had compiled lookouts based on surveillance footage of the defendant stealing items from their buildings.

     In announcing the verdicts, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of Officer David Jackson of the Metropolitan Police Department and Investigator Jason Engel of the George Washington University Police Department, who investigated the case. He also expressed his appreciation to Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor N. McFadden of the Second District Unit of the Superior Court Felony Major Crimes Section, who prosecuted the case.