Former Arizona sheriff deputy crashes weddings and steals thousands

A former sheriff’s deputy in Arizona has gone from fighting the crime to being the one causing the crimes, as he allegedly crashed as many as 11 weddings in Arizona and stole thousands of dollars worth of gifts from the newly married couples, police said.

According to the Chandler Police Department, 54-year-old Landon Earl Rankin would allegedly pose as a guest at the weddings and then proceed to steal boxes of wedding cards from the reception before sneaking out of the reception, the AP reported.

Rankin was caught stealing the boxes from two Phoenix-area weddings. Police said both those boxes contained between $3,000 and $6,000.

While Rankin was linked to these two weddings, police investigated the case some more and uncovered at least 11 recent incidents of similar wedding thefts in the East Valley region of Arizona and Rankin could be responsible for all 11 of those robberies.

The Chandler Police Department released surveillance images from the wedding, which showed Rankin in a button-down shirt and pants running with what is allegedly the wedding card boxes in a plastic bag, the AP reported.

There was also surveillance video from one of the Chandler wedding venues, which showed Rankin grabbing the gift box, placing it in a bag, walking out the venue’s rear door, running to his vehicle and driving away, police said.

Rankin was arrested on May 5 on suspicion of two counts of burglary in relation to the thefts at two Phoenix-area weddings last month, which took place on April 15 and April 30.

He is also facing several drug charges, as police said they found amphetamine and fentanyl in his possession.

Rankin retired from the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office in 2015 after serving 21 years on the force, police said. When questioned by police after his arrest, Rankin told them he attended the weddings to hear the vows “because he was going through a divorce.”

However, he was not invited to either wedding he was at.