Kal Penn’s mugger sentenced to more than three years

Published July 21, 2011 4:00am ET



A District man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison in the armed robbery of actor-turned White House liaison Kal Penn.

Marcellus Chambers, 20, pleaded guilty in April to assault with a dangerous weapon, admitting to robbing Penn near his home in the 1500 block of S Street NW.

According to prosecutors,Chambers and another, unidentified man, approached Penn around 1:30 a.m. on April 20, 2010.

Chambers pulled out a pistol, racked a round into the weapon, and forced Penn onto the ground. The men took Penn’s wallet and cell phone, then kept the gun aimed at Penn for a period of time before fleeing on foot, authorities said.

Chambers was arrested in June 2010 after police tracked him to a number of transactions made with Penn’s credit card.

Penn, best known for his stoner role in “Harold & Kumar,” is Associate Director of Public Engagement for the White House and White House Liaison to Young Americans.