A man was allegedly caught on camera stealing three laptops and five big screen televisions from Abrazo Central Campus Hospital in Phoenix.
The suspect, 35-year-old Brian Leroy Nichols, was seen on surveillance video wandering the basement of the hospital for approximately three hours, going from room and room and changing his appearance along the way, reports ABC 15.
Nichols allegedly took the computers from a classroom and hid them under a staircase, covering them with a gurney mattress. He reportedly slept under the staircase on occasion using the gurney mattress as a bed, says Fox 10.
At one point, he reportedly left the hospital and sold two of the laptops. The third was found in his backpack when he was apprehended by police.
Nichols says he used the money from the stolen items to buy food and drugs.
Once in custody, police asked Nichols about three televisions that were reported missing from various floors of the building by hospital staff. He reportedly admitted to police that he stole them.
When asked how he was able to get the televisions out of the hospital unseen, Nichols told police he put the stolen televisions on a gurney and covered them with sheets.
He would then wheel the gurney out to the street where an accomplice was waiting with a vehicle. He said he would then return the gurney to a nurse, claiming it had been contaminated.
Abrazo Central Hospital officials released a statement on Tuesday, stating, “We are reviewing campus security footage of this incident to assist the Phoenix police department with its investigation. We are also conducting a thorough review of our campus security measures.”
The value of the stolen items is estimated to be $36,000, according to police.
Nichols is facing three felony charges.
