Phoenix — An Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper, Pedro Javier Aguila Muniz, was arrested on Wednesday at the department’s headquarters. Aguila Muniz was arrested after an internal audit and investigation into fraud.
Aguila Muniz had been assigned to the Highway Patrol Division’s Metro Bureau for approximately two years.
Aguila Muniz, age 27, was booked into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office 4th Avenue Jail on charges of fraudulent schemes and artifices/practices, fraudulent use of a credit card, forgery, theft of a credit card and unauthorized access of criminal history.
In May 2019, Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) began a criminal investigation into Aguila Muniz, after it was discovered that he displayed a “willful pattern to defraud off-duty law enforcement employment vendors.”
According to AZDPS, discrepancies with Aguila Muniz’s record keeping relating to his on-duty time sheets and patrol vehicle mileage usage revealed he used his assigned patrol vehicle for personal use and to hide unauthorized fuel purchases with a State of Arizona fuel credit card. Detectives gathered evidence of Aguila Muniz using a state issued credit card to purchase and dispense fuel 21 times, into four personal vehicles between January and July of 2019.
Authorities says that Aguila Muniz was also found to be using the Arizona Criminal Justice Information System (ACJIS) in violation of state law and policy by querying persons without having a criminal justice purpose.
“Aguila Muniz’s extensive misuse of department issued property and his willingness to violate clear and specific laws, policies and rules was evident throughout the investigation conducted by our detectives,” said AZDPS Director, Colonel Frank Milstead.