Salinas Police Arrest One of Their Own

SALINAS—These are sad times for the Salinas Police Department as they are dealing with the fact that a man that they trusted for six years has been arrested on charges of embezzlement.

Joseph Castro

The Salinas Police have arrested Joseph Castro, 32, of Salinas after it was discovered that he had embezzled thousands of dollars from the city while he worked as a Community Service Officer.

Castro has been employed by the city for the last six years. During the last four, he has been assigned to the front desk assisting citizens on police related matters.  One of his responsibilities was the release of impounded vehicles and the collection of the fees.

It was the discrepancies in those fees that caused the allegations. An investigation revealed that several thousand dollars in public funds were taken.  An ongoing more extensive audit of the documents is continuing at this time.

“This is a sad day in our Department,” Salinas Police Officer Miguel Cabrera said. “This is an isolated incident and we expect more from our people.”

Castro was arrested on Thursday and booked into the Monterey County Jail and charged with several felony charges of embezzlement of public funds, falsifying public documents, forging public documents and grand theft.

“This looks bad for our Department. It is a breach of trust between us and the public,”  Officer Cabrera added.

Castro has been placed on administrative leave subsequent to his arrest.  The District Attorney’s Office will be handling all court related appearances.

“Castro does deserve his day in court and he will have it,” Officer Cabrera added.

The Salinas Police Department is still actively investigating this incident and is asking anyone with information to call the WeTip line 1-800-78-CRIME.

Read More:

The Californian: Salinas Police Worker Arrested in Embezzlement case

KSBW: Salinas Police Department’s Front Desk Employee Arrested