HOUSTON – A Houston man and woman have been sentenced for breaking into the home of the Consul General for Great Britain and causing nearly $56,000 in property damages, the United States Department of Justice said.
Darion Benjamin Woods, 28, and Christin Danielle Brinkley, 26, pleaded guilty on May 16, admitting they broke into, damaged and stole several items from the private residence.
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According to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now ordered Woods to serve 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Brinkley received 14 months followed by one year of home detention as part of her three years of supervised release after her sentence. Both were also ordered to pay $56,636.15 in restitution, the DOJ said.
In imposing the sentence, the court reportedly considered a statement from the victim and noted the extent of damage to the residence.
At the time of the pleas, Hamdani said Woods and Brinkley admitted to burglarizing the home on July 23, 2022. Nobody was in the residence at the time of the incident, investigators said.
Authorities said security cameras captured Brinkley and Woods pulling up to the gated residence with a U-Haul, jumping over the gate and eventually driving through it, causing significant damage. Once inside, investigators said the suspects stole multiple items, including the two cars (one of which was the property of the British Consulate), jewelry, electronics, documents and a safe.
Authorities said they later located the stolen vehicles at an address in Houston and saw Brinkley inside both vehicles at different times. They took Brinkley and Woods into custody and recovered the vehicles, as well as some property from the residence, most of which was damaged.
Both were ordered into custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Department of State – Diplomatic Security Service and the FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luis Batarse and Richard W. Bennett prosecuted the case.