DENVER — A Denver police officer has been arrested on a felony theft charge after he was paid by a private employer for hours he didn't work, according to the Denver Police Department.
Police said Ryan Roybal, 45, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of theft between $5,000 and $19,999, which is a felony.
According to an arrest affidavit, Roybal worked an off-duty job at a store on South Colorado Boulevard that contracts with another company to hire DPD officers to provide security. In October, police were notified that some of the officers were scheduled to work shifts that they did not show up for, and were paid for those shifts.
Police said an investigation found that between April and August, Roybal was scheduled to work at the store on 27 separate days, for a total of 156 hours. He was paid $75 per hour for those 156 hours, the affidavit says.
Investigators found that Roybal only worked 37 hours and 50 minutes of that time, the affidavit says.
Police presented their investigation to the district attorney on Tuesday, and Roybal was arrested later that day. His next court appearance is set for March 29.
DPD said Roybal joined the department in 2014 and was most recently assigned to the patrol division. He was placed on modified duty on March 3, after the internal affairs investigation found a potential law violation. After his arrest, he was put on unpaid administrative leave, the department said.
Last August DPD officers Michael Pineda, and his son Santana Pineda were arrested for similar actions.
DPD said its investigation began after discovering the officers were not present at a scheduled, non-department paid off-duty job on April 15.
Investigators received hours of surveillance video provided by the private employer and compared it to the officer's timesheets. DPD said they identified 23 shift discrepancies for Michael Pineda valued at $5,070 and 18 shift discrepancies for Santana Pineda valued at $3,751.50.
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