Arrest made in theft of nearly $165,000 in medical kits from Inova Mount Vernon

A Maryland man has been charged in connection with the theft of roughly $165,000 worth of medical equipment from Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, the Fairfax County Police said Wednesday.

Burke Slater, a Gaithersburg resident, faces five counts of grand larceny, five counts of larceny with intent to sell and one count of money laundering. Police say Slater turned himself in this morning and has been released on bond.

Slater, 52, was not an employee of the hospital but worked for a medical supply vendor who did business there. Slater’s position allowed him access to operating rooms, the police said.

Slater is alleged to have stolen five medical kits valued at approximately $33,000 from Inova Mount Vernon. He then sold the kits on eBay, according to police. He’s also accused of stealing two kits from a hospital in Maryland.

A LinkedIn profile for a Burke Slater lists him as an employee for Stryker, a Michigan-based company that sells medical and surgical supplies.

A Styrker representative said Thursday that Slater is no longer employed with the company.

“We have been cooperating with local law enforcement since they contacted us regarding this matter and have since terminated the employee,” said a Stryker spokesman.

Police say Slater was caught after a Florida medical supplier saw the kits on eBay and ran their serial numbers. The supplier then contacted Inova Mount Vernon on March 20 to verify that the kit belonged to the hospital, and it was then discovered that the kits had been stolen.

A spokeswoman for Inova Mount Vernon said Inova appreciated the police’s diligence, but declined to comment further.

Six of the seven kits allegedly stolen by Slater have been recovered, according to the police. None of the buyers are believed to have been involved, and all have been cooperative during the investigation, police said. The kits made it as far as Florida, Washington State, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and some were even resold after the initial purchase, police said.

The thefts at Inova Mount Vernon were first publicly reported by ABC7 earlier this month.

This story has been updated to include comment from Inova Mount Vernon Hospital and Stryker.