A U.S. Marine corporal accused of stealing and selling weapons from a California Marine base appeared in federal court in Phoenix and pleaded not guilty to charges tied to an alleged diversion of military munitions and ammunition, according to court documents.
Federal prosecutors said Andrew Paul Amarillas, who worked as an ammunition specialist at California’s Camp Pendleton, was charged with stealing and selling weapons and ammunition, including a shoulder-fired missile system, and conspiring to sell them in Arizona. A message seeking comment was sent Monday to an attorney for Amarillas, the Associated Press reported.
Amarillas pleaded not guilty in Phoenix last Thursday to multiple counts, including conspiracy to commit theft and embezzlement of government property, as well as possession and sale of stolen ammunition. A judge ordered him held in custody pending trial.
Prosecutors said Amarillas used his position as a technical specialist at the School of Infantry West to steal at least one Javelin missile system, thousands of rounds of military-grade ammunition and other weapons-related material. Federal charging documents placed the alleged theft and diversion between February 2022 and November 2025.
The complaint alleges that Amarillas transported the stolen material to his home state of Arizona and sold it to unnamed co-conspirators. Prosecutors said the co-conspirators then resold the equipment to others, and that some but not all of the stolen weapons and ammunition had been recovered as the case proceeded.
Court records cited details from text messages, including an August exchange in which Amarillas told a co-conspirator: “(I) have 2 launchers that (I) think you’d like, if you want to take a look tomorrow,” according to the criminal complaint. The documents also said the messages included photos, including one showing a portable Javelin missile system with a serial number that prosecutors said matched one Amarillas had signed out from the military base near San Diego.
Prosecutors said some of the ammunition was purchased from co-conspirators by undercover officers. The complaint said the conspiracy’s object was “to steal property and ammunition from the U.S. military and sell stolen U.S. military property and ammunition to others to earn money,” according to the charging filing in U.S. District Court for Arizona.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service declined to comment on the case’s specifics but said its investigation is continuing. In an email on Monday, Acting Deputy Assistant Director Jeff Houston said, “NCIS and our partners remain committed to thoroughly and aggressively investigating any allegation involving the theft of military weapons and munitions to be sold on the black market.”
The case comes as investigators have previously looked at weapons and explosives theft within the Marine Corps, including explosives that went missing from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms in 2021. NCIS said it was investigating the disappearance at the time but declined to provide details.