Overview
- The Marine corporal at the center of the case, who pleaded not guilty Thursday in Phoenix, remains jailed pending trial after a judge called him a flight risk.
- Court filings allege he used his access as an ammunition specialist at Camp Pendleton’s School of Infantry West to take at least one non‑demilitarized Javelin missile system and thousands of rounds between February 2022 and November 2025.
- Investigators say he hauled the items to Arizona and sold them through a small resale network, with federal agents making undercover buys in 2024 and 2025 and recovering some of the goods.
- Law enforcement seized a Javelin and ammunition from an Arizona home on October 10, 2025, then collected more ammunition on October 17 and November 20, though other material remains missing.
- Text messages and photos in the complaint tie a Javelin he signed out on August 13, 2024 to the recovered launcher, underscoring concerns about base inventory controls and how military‑only items can slip into civilian markets.