A 23-year-old U.S. Marine was taken into federal custody after being accused of stealing weapons and ammunition from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and transporting the items to Arizona.
“Cpl. Andrew Paul Amarillas, a former Ammunition Technical Specialist at the School of Infantry West, is accused of Theft of Government Property and Possession and Sale of Stolen Ammunition between February 2022 and November 2025,” NBC Los Angeles reports.
He allegedly stole military-grade ammo and Javelin missile systems.
According to the outlet, he “acted alongside two unnamed alleged co-conspirators.”
Insane haul of war weapons Marine, 23, is accused of stealing from California military base https://t.co/08hztCkHwY pic.twitter.com/IL2bNQ9kqA
— New York Post (@nypost) March 30, 2026
NBC Los Angeles shared further:
According to court documents, Amarillas allegedly stole at least one non-demilitarized Javelin Missile System, M855A1 enhanced rifle ammo and M855 non-enhanced ammunition from Camp Pendleton and delivered them to two individuals in Arizona.
Court documents also stated that in October 2024, Amarillas reportedly stole a Javelin Missile System and delivered it to one of the two unnamed co-conspirators in Arizona, who then allegedly sold it to the CEO of a company and stored it at the company’s location. By October 2025, one of the co-conspirators had obtained additional stolen M855A1 EPR ammunition from Camp Pendleton and allegedly sold it to the same CEO.
In November 2025, Amarillas allegedly stole cans of M855 non-enhanced ammunition and transported them from California to Arizona and delivered them to the two co-conspirators, who attempted to sell the items to the CEO of one of the two companies mentioned in the court documents.
The investigation included undercover purchases of the stolen military property by federal agents.
A judge ordered Amarillas be held without bail.
He entered a not guilty plea in a Phoenix federal courthouse last week.
More below:
Not good…
🚨 U.S. Marine in California accused of stealing, selling Missile Systems in Arizona
Corporal Andrew Paul Amarillas, the 23-year-old, allegedly stole a Javelin missile system and cans of ammunition that he then sold to a network of co-conspirators.
Court documents… pic.twitter.com/QjT8pf38K3
— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) March 30, 2026
More from Military.com:
Federal agents arrested Amarillas on March 5 at Quantico, Virginia, where he was completing an eight-week training course before a possible assignment guarding the U.S. Embassy in Myanmar. The government argued he was a flight risk and could interfere with witnesses and evidence still at Camp Pendleton.
A conviction on the conspiracy charge alone carries up to five years in prison. Each additional count could bring up to 10 years.
“The full extent of how much Defendant stole, to whom he all sold it, and how it has been used is not yet known,” prosecutors wrote in detention filings.
ADVERTISEMENTActing Deputy Assistant Director Jeff Houston told the Associated Press that the agency and its partners remain committed to investigating allegations that military weapons and munitions are being diverted to the black market.
The Amarillas indictment follows a series of federal prosecutions involving servicemembers and military veterans who turned base access into profit.
