Indicted Phoenix officer had previous theft allegation filed against him

PHOENIX - Newly released documents from the Phoenix Police Department reveal a Phoenix officer currently facing theft charges - accused of taking extra payments for off-duty security work he never completed - also faced theft allegations in 2006.

According to an internal investigation report dated July 19, 2007, an inmate accused Officer Aaron Lentz of stealing nearly $1,300 from him when Lentz booked him into jail for a felony warrant in June of 2006.

Lentz denied the claims, and the investigation is currently unresolved.

According to Sgt. Trent Crump, a spokesperson for the Phoenix Police Department, the case could be reopened if new information comes to light.

According to an investigation summary, Lentz booked Felipe Abarca into the 4th Avenue Jail on June 16, 2006, reporting Abarca had $628 in cash, at the time of his arrest.

“Mr. Abarca immediately complained to jail staff when he was booked that he had $1,900 in his possession when Officer Lentz arrested him, and he claimed that the officer took his money,” according to the report.

The Special Investigations Detail determined there was no evidence to show that Abarca ever had $1,900 when he was arrested, and investigators reported Abarca’s credibility was “not good.”

“Mr. Abarca said he had two separate rolls of cash on him when arrested,” and another officer told investigators he observed Lentz remove two separate rolls of cash from Mr. Abarca’s pockets.

Lentz told investigators he thought he took only a single roll of cash from the inmate’s pockets, when booking him into jail.

During the time of the arrest, investigators determined Lentz was having financial problems and paid off a small financial debt to a friend two days after booking the inmate.

In the report, Lentz called his financial situation and the accusations "coincidental".

According to Craig Mehrens, the attorney who represents Lentz in the current case against him, Lentz agreed to do a polygraph test but was never given the chance.

Abarca, meanwhile, initially agreed to a polygraph but later backed out of it.

Mehrens said the allegations against Lentz were fabricated, and he said his client has many commendations.

“He has over twenty,” said Mehrens. “He received a medal of merit for saving someone’s life,” he added.

Investigators later determined there was insufficient evidence to either prove or disprove the theft allegations, and the case remains unresolved.