SC Justice robbed at vacation home

Associated Press

Updated: Feb 13, 2012 3:30 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Stephen Breyer was robbed last week by a machete-wielding intruder at his vacation home in the West Indies, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said Monday.

The 73-year-old Breyer, wife Joanna and guests were confronted by the robber around 9 p.m. EST Thursday in the home Breyer owns on the Caribbean island of Nevis, spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said. The intruder took about $1,000 in cash and no one was hurt, Arberg said.

She said the robbery was reported to local authorities, but she did not know if an arrest has been made.

Breyer reported on his most recent annual disclosure in June that property he owns on Nevis is worth between $100,000 and $250,000.

The last time a justice was the victim of a crime was in 2004, when a group of young men assaulted Justice David Souter as he jogged on a city street. Souter suffered minor injuries.

In 1996, a man snatched Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's purse while she was out walking with her husband and daughter near their home in Washington. Ginsburg was not hurt.

The justices return from a nearly month-long recess for a closed-door conference on Friday. They will next meet in public on February 21.

Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Political Pulse

We welcome your thoughtful comments. Be the first to participate in the discussion. All comments will display your username and avatar.