Sounds similar to a Barracks thief when I was in. Bat.CO said no one gets liberty until the perp was caught. My buddy JC left his wallet out in his cube and I watched. Sneaky bastard snuck behind the cubes and snatched the wallet. I yelled thief, by the time I got into the corridor seconds later he had several other Marines picking him apart. As his article 15 will attest, he accused 7 of us of assault but that was determined to be a lie. Mr sneak was also very quick. All the accused testified the same thing when each was called before the CO.
I had yelled thief everyone else began chase, and dude ran out the back door and fell down the stairs repeatedly. 7 separate testimonies saying he fell down the stairs repeatedly and one saying he was beaten.
Bat. CO said not only are you a thief but a liar. Have him a brig sentence, Then gave us 7 an extra day off.
USMC 1985-1992