Police corporal charged with embezzlement after 90 stolen tyres found in San Juan
A police corporal in San Juan was charged with embezzlement after 90 tyres went missing from the Vehicles Section. The case emerged from an investigation into robberies of private vehicles.
Tyre theft at San Juan Police sparks internal scandal
According to diariodecuyo.com.ar, what began as an investigation into a series of spare wheel thefts from private vehicles ended up exposing a suspected shortage of 90 tyres within the San Juan Police itself. On Tuesday, Corporal Franco Nicolás Narváez Rivero, 29, was provisionally charged with embezzlement.
Prosecutor Claudia Salica was initially investigating around 12 incidents that occurred between June and July, all following a similar pattern: criminals stole spare wheels from cars at various locations. The inquiries led investigators to a property in the Natania 20 neighbourhood, where they found accumulated tyres.
The owner of the property declared herself to be Narváez's sister-in-law and stated that the tyres had been handed to her by him for storage, as he did not have space to keep them. According to that account, the officer was planning to use them to set up a future tyre business.
The operation marked a turning point in the case. The Police conducted an audit of the tyre stock at the Vehicles Section—known as D-4—and detected a shortage of 90 units. Investigators later determined that the tyres seized at the home of Narváez's relative belonged to the provincial force.
Facing the new crime, Special Crimes Unit prosecutor Roberto Ginsberg joined the investigation, an agency that handles the conduct of police officers in San Juan. Narváez had been working as a tyre technician in the Vehicles Section for several years and had direct access to the department's tyres, according to Salica. His mobile phone was seized for forensic examination.
The hearing also had an unexpected development. The corporal gave a statement and pointed the finger at his superiors, claiming that irregular practices existed within the department. At the same time, he asserted that the tyres found were his property and that he had acquired them "in good faith".
His lawyer, Faustino Gélvez, requested that the allegations made by his client be investigated and asked that Narváez be allowed to remain free during the process. Judge of Guarantees Diego Sanz granted that latter request and ordered his release under rules of conduct: he must present himself every 15 days at a police station.
The investigation is now advancing in two directions: determining what happened to the 90 missing tyres and establishing whether there were other responsibilities within the police structure of San Juan.
Source: Google News PR — San Juan