A U.S. Marine formerly stationed at Camp Pendleton is now in federal custody, charged with stealing weapons of war — including a shoulder-fired missile system — with the intent to resell them in Arizona, according to court documents.
Cpl. Andrew Paul Amarillas is accused of using his position as an ammunition technical specialist at the School of Infantry West at the San Diego base to access and steal military property, including at least one Javelin missile system, military-grade ammunition and other weapons-related material, between February 2022 and November 2025. Investigators say he transported the stolen weapons and ammunition to his home state of Arizona, where he sold them to a network of co-conspirators, who then resold the equipment to others.
Authorities described the items as strictly controlled and dangerous, posing a threat to civilians and law enforcement. Some but not all of the stolen material has been recovered.
“The objects of the conspiracy were to steal property and ammunition from the U.S. military and sell stolen U.S. military property and ammunition to others to earn money,” read the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in March.
An attorney for Amarillas did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did officials from Camp Pendleton. The story was first reported by AZFamily in Phoenix.
The court documents include text messages sent between Amarillas and his unnamed co-conspirators.
“Just [got] some javs and some other ones,” Amarillas wrote in August, according to the criminal complaint. “[I] have 2 launchers that [I] think you’d like, if you want to take a look tomorrow.”
The text messages also included photos, including one of a Javelin missile system whose serial number matched one that he had signed out from the School of Infantry West, court documents show.
Javelin missile systems are portable antitank weapons also designed to destroy low-flying helicopters and other fortifications. They are manufactured exclusively by the Lockheed Martin and RTX Corp. for the U.S. military and cannot be legally possessed or sold to the public unless demilitarized. The Javelin recovered in this case was not demilitarized, prosecutors said.
The case also involves M855A1 and M80A1 ammunition — “enhanced performance” rifle cartridges manufactured by Olin Winchester and limited to U.S. government sales — as well as M855 rifle cartridges, which are non-performance-enhanced ammunition that can sometimes be bought directly from the manufacturer. However, M855 ammunition made for the U.S. military is packaged differently and cannot be possessed by or sold to the public.
Prosecutors say, in one instance, Amarillas offered 30 cans of ammunition — about 25,000 rounds — to a co-conspirator. Over a roughly two-week period, investigators say he stole and sold 66 cans of M855 rifle ammunition, about a third of which has been recovered. Some of the ammunition was purchased from co-conspirators by undercover officers, while some was seized.
Amarillas “never obtained authorization from the U.S. military to remove Javelin missile systems and M855A1 and M855 from Camp Pendleton, transport them to Arizona, and sell them to civilians for his own profit,” prosecutors said.
Amarillas pleaded not guilty to the charges in a Phoenix federal courthouse Thursday. The charges include conspiracy to commit theft and embezzlement of government property and possess and sell stolen ammunition, and related offenses.
A judge ordered Amarillas to be held in custody pending a trial, stating that he is a flight risk and has the potential to interfere with evidence and witnesses at Camp Pendleton.
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