A U.S. Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton is facing federal charges after prosecutors say he spent nearly four years stealing military weapons — including a shoulder-fired Javelin missile system — and funneling them to buyers in Arizona through a network of co-conspirators.
Corporal Andrew Paul Amarillas, an ammunition and technical specialist at the School of Infantry West, pleaded not guilty last week in a Phoenix federal courtroom to multiple charges including conspiracy to commit theft of government property, embezzlement and possession and sale of stolen ammunition. A judge ordered him held in custody pending trial.
Federal prosecutors allege the scheme ran from February 2022 through November 2025, during which Amarillas used his authorized access to military weapons and munitions to steal at least one Javelin missile launcher, thousands of rounds of military-grade ammunition and other weapons-related equipment. He allegedly transported the stolen material to Arizona — his home state — where he sold it to unnamed co-conspirators who then resold it to others. Some of the stolen items have been recovered; others have not.
Text messages included in the criminal complaint provide a window into how the alleged operation worked. In one exchange, Amarillas told a co-conspirator he had two launchers available for viewing the following day, attaching photographs that included an image of a portable Javelin system with a serial number matching one he had officially signed out from the base near San Diego. A co-conspirator had Amarillas saved in their phone under the nickname “Andrew Ammo.”
Undercover officers purchased some of the ammunition from co-conspirators during the investigation, which was led by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. NCIS declined to comment on the specifics of the case but said it remains committed to aggressively pursuing any theft of military weapons intended for black market sale.
The investigation is ongoing.