Phoenix resident Alberto Savvedra Lopez was arrested on a felony theft charge after he arrived at the Cottonwood Police Department for what he thought would be a job interview on Thursday, Jan. 4, according to Cottonwood Police.
Lopez, a 32-year-old employee at the Bank of America branch in Cottonwood, stole $5,000 from the bank between July and September 2016, according to a theft report the bank filed in October 2016.
During the investigation, Lopez quit and moved to Phoenix. He refused to cooperate with the investigation and would not answer phone calls.
“When the detective received the report he tried to arrange an interview with Lopez,” said Cottonwood Police Sgt. Monica Kuhlt. “He just got the runaround with him. For example, Lopez would make an appointment for an interview and then not show up.”
The investigation was sent to the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office for a warrant to be issued, Kuhlt said.
“The detective sent the case to the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office for a warrant,” she said. “A warrant had not yet been issued when Lopez was arrested; however, probable cause existed for his arrest.”
Lopez applied for a dispatch position with the Cottonwood Police Department last month. A background check revealed Lopez’s warrant.
“Once his application came through it was compared with our database and the rest is history,” Kuhlt said.
Lopez was contacted and and “interview” was set up. When he arrived, he was taken into custody and charged with theft.
Kelcie Grega can be reached at kgrega@larsonnewspapers.com
