Man Gets 7 Years for Stealing Obama’s Teleprompter

Eric Brown of Richmond, Va., agreed to longer sentence to avoid prosecution in similar crimes, officials said

By Larry O’Dell

|  Friday, Apr 12, 2013  |  Updated 11:03 AM CDT

A career criminal who stole a truck containing President Obama’s audio equipment was sentenced Thursday to seven years in federal prison.

Sentencing guidelines called for a term of about three years, but Eric Brown of Richmond, Va., agreed to the longer sentence to avoid prosecution for 14 similar truck thefts in three localities. However, he could still face charges in Stafford County, which did not join Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties in the agreement.

Brown pleaded guilty in January to theft of government property.