Arizona DPS trooper arrested, booked for theft, weapons misconduct
Dec 22, 2017, 6:33 AM | Updated: 6:18 pm
PHOENIX — An Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper was arrested for multiple counts of theft and misconduct, the department announced Friday.
In a press release, the department said the trooper, who was later identified as John Petculescu, was arrested and booked on eight counts of theft and eight counts of misconduct involving weapons.
John Petculescu (Photo: MCSO)
Petculescu is currently being housed in a Maricopa County jail. He served with the department for 18 years and spent eight years in the firearms training unit, according to a spokesman.
The department said it launched an investigation into Petculescu after it was “recently provided information containing serious allegations against [an] employee.”
It did not clarify what those allegations were, but according to court documents, the department spoke to Petculescu’s wife after she became suspicious that he had “misappropriated DPS ammunition and/or firearms.”
The wife, who was not identified, said she became concerned due to the “volume and multiple calibers of ammunition her husband had stored in their garage.”
An investigation on Wednesday uncovered “several thousand rounds of ammunition of multiple calibers,” much of which was stored loosely.
Officials also found multiple flashbang grenades that were “never cataloged or inventoried by DPS, as required by law.”
Petculescu was arrested in Phoenix on Thursday, according to court documents. He has also been administratively suspended.
“AZDPS holds our employees to the highest standard. AZDPS is committed to full transparency and will provide an update as the investigation continues,” the department said in a statement.
Petculescu will appear in court on Jan. 4 and will be required to comply with electronic monitoring. An attorney has been appointed to him.
