A Fresno police detective has been arrested and accused of stealing money from an evidence locker, the department said Thursday in a news release.
Few details were immediately available including the detective’s name. Police said the case was being investigated by the state Department of Justice, which was expected to release more information later in the day.
Fresno police said the detective was arrested Thursday. Police said in the news release they asked for the FBI to look into the case “due to the criminal implications and concern that the theft could be part of a larger scale problem.”
The alleged theft took place in May 2024 when the detective improperly removed money from an evidence room and did not return it, police said.
Fresno police terminated the detective in June 2025 after its own investigation, the release said.
While the quarterly report from the Office of Independent Review did not name the officer, it notes an officer was terminated in the second quarter of this year after seven findings of misconduct including the removal of money from evidence.
Chief Mindy Casto issued a statement in the news release.
“As chief of the Fresno Police Department, I am deeply troubled by the former detective’s conduct and its impact on the trust we work to build and maintain with the Fresno community,” the statement said in part. “The FBI and California DOJ will be releasing further details of their criminal investigation, to include the detective’s identity, later today, but I wanted to be the first to notify our community of this investigation and reaffirm our commitment to ensuring no one is above the law.”
