Security guard to plead guilty to $600K theft from city of Norfolk

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A former security guard at a city office building is scheduled to plead guilty to grand larceny next month in an alleged scheme involving the theft of valuable electronic devices.

Court documents show Anthony Stateman, 37, of Portsmouth, was making $17.25 an hour in 2023 as a full time security guard at the Norfolk Department of Human Services, but he was able to steal $600,000 worth of computers and mobile phones.

The electronics were stored in an IT storage room on the fourth floor of the building on Monticello. Police say Stateman confessed to police that he stole as many as 200 HP laptops and several mobile phones.

At his Portsmouth home, a woman identified herself as his mother and said he was not there, and she had no further information about the alleged crimes, which police say had Stateman taking the devices home in his backpack at the end of his shift. He would often work weekends when few people were in the building.

Human Services personnel noticed the property missing in August of last year, and pinpointed the theft between June and August 2023. Software on the laptops enabled detectives to locate them, although it’s unclear how many were recovered or how much money Stateman raised reselling them.

A city spokesperson told WAVY the theft had no effect on operations for the department.

Stateman is free on bond and is scheduled to plead guilty to grand larceny next month in Norfolk.

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