A U.S. Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton has been accused of stealing a “weapon of war” and military ammunition and reselling it in Arizona, according to court documents.
Cpl. Andrew Paul Amarillas pleaded not guilty Thursday in Phoenix to several charges, including conspiracy to commit theft and embezzlement of government property, and possession and sale of stolen ammunition. A judge ordered him to be held in custody pending trial.
Federal 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 between February 2022 and November 2025.
He was assigned to the School of Infantry West through January, according to a complaint filed in federal court.
Amarillas is accused of stealing ammunition, including Enhanced Performance Rounds (EPR) made by Olin Winchester, some of which are federally controlled, U.S. government only ammunition illegal for the public to possess or be sold, some of which the public can purchase from the manufacturer, but would be packaged differently than that bought by the military, and Javelin Missile Systems.
Some types of EPR are described as “a threat to law enforcement and civilians,” according to court documents.
“Defendant never obtained authorization from the U.S. military to remove Javelin Missile Systems and M855A1 and M855 [ammunition] from Camp Pendleton, transport them to Arizona, and sell them to civilians for his own profit,” court documents said.
Some of the ammunition was purchased from co-conspirators by undercover officers, prosecutors said.
“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,” said the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for Arizona.
The missile systems, which are made by Lockheed Martin and RTX Corp., by law cannot be possessed by or sold to the public unless they are demilitarized.
A missile system Amarillas allegedly took and sold, examined by law enforcement, was found to not be demilitarized. The missile system is described in court documents as a “weapon of war” that has been used in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Law enforcement discovered stolen ammunition and explosives for sale in Arizona and elsewhere in the United States and tracked the ammunition’s lot numbers and the stolen Javelin Missile System back to Camp Pendleton and the School of Infantry West, finding that some of the stolen ammunition and the Javelin Missile System had been signed out by Amarillas.
Law enforcement officials also went undercover, buying stolen ammunition from companies, some of which were traced back to Camp Pendleton and the School of Infantry West. Some cans of ammunition seized were traced to Amarillas, after officers confirmed he had signed out cans with the same lot numbers, a complaint states.
The CEO of one company Amarillas was allegedly involved in selling ammunition to had Amarillas saved in his phone as “Andrew Ammo,” according to court documents.
Some of the ammunition has been recovered, while roughly 2 million rounds of one type of ammunition are still unaccounted for, court documents state.
Prosecutors argued that Amarillas is a flight risk, stating that Amarillas could be deployed overseas or go back to Camp Pendleton where he could interfere with evidence and witnesses, according to a court document.
The Associated Press contributed to this report