A former Moab police officer was charged with burglary and theft in January for allegedly stealing money from his own police department.

Officer Edward Arvel Guerrero, 43, is accused of stealing about $900 from an envelope he allegedly took from the office of a Moab police lieutenant, said his attorney Greg Skordas.

Guerrero was employed with the department at the time of the alleged burglary and theft, sometime around August 2009. The money was believed to be proceeds from a drug bust or other crime, Skordas said.

The Utah County Sheriff's Office investigated the case and Emery County Attorney William Langston is prosecuting the case to avoid any conflict of interest, Skordas said.

Guerrero was charged Jan. 4 and has pleaded not guilty to one count of third-degree felony burglary and one count of theft, a class A misdemeanor.

Guerrero is scheduled to be in 7th District Court for a preliminary hearing Tuesday.

Jason Bergreen