MPD detective arrested following FBI, PCSO investigation

City of Maricopa Police Detective Jose Lizarraga, 45, was arrested Tuesday for fraudulent schemes, forgery, tampering with public records, attempted money laundering, and theft according to a press release from the Pinal County Attorney's Office.

County Attorney Lando Voyles requested the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office initiate an investigation into Lizarraga. After becoming aware of various irregularities with the detective’s activities while on duty, the Sheriff’s Office asked the Federal Bureau of Investigations for additional assistance.

MPD was made aware of the investigation and continues to fully cooperate.

In the PCSO and FBI joint investigation, Lizarraga was taken into custody and questioned regarding an alleged theft of $1,300 while on duty April 7. After the theft occurred, Lizarraga is suspected of throwing the money out of his department-issued vehicle, according to the Probable Cause statement.

After being questioned, Lizarraga was transported and processed into the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Adult Detention Center.

Due to family ties in Mexico, frequent travel to Mexico and firsthand knowledge of Border Patrol and law enforcement operations, including how to elude law enforcement, public records indicate he would likely flee, if released.

His initial appearance is 10 a.m. Wednesday in Pinal County Superior Court in Florence.

Lizarraga has been placed on administrative suspension, according to a statement release by Maricopa Police Chief Steve Stahl.

In the statement, Stahl said his department is fully cooperating with the on-going criminal investigation and had initiated an internal investigation of its own that “will be concluded after the criminal investigation is complete.”

“During the past 18 months, the Maricopa Police Department has demonstrated intolerance toward unethical behavior by our members and took immediate significant steps toward organizational improvement,” Stahl said. “During this time, we have restructured the organization for increased accountability, instituted a new internal affairs policy and tracking mechanism for immediate intervention and have conducted departmentwide mandatory training in several related areas.”

Those areas are: ethics, search and seizure and use of force.

“The conduct alleged is reprehensible and does not reflect the professionalism demonstrated daily by the rest of the fine men and women of Maricopa PD,” according to the chief’s statement.