Three people are facing charges in connection to the theft of donations from an Arizona charity.

According to a release, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Gustavo Chavez was recently arraigned for his alleged involvement in the theft from Toys for Tots Foundation. Mr. Chavez and his co-conspirators, Lloyd Jorgenson, Paul Lambert, and Melinda Stewart, of Sierra Vista, were indicted in the summer on several charges including burglary, theft, trafficking in stolen property, conspiracy, and illegally conducting an enterprise. 

However, charges against Mr. Lambert have been dropped after he died earlier this year, according to officials.
 
The Marine Corps League, Thunder Mountain Detachment, which officially manages the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation in Sierra Vista, received a large toy car donation from the estate of James Robert Evans in early 2016. Mr. Evans began collecting toy cars as a child in the 1960s, and by the time of his death, had amassed a collection in the thousands. His estate’s donation included over 100 military-style footlockers filled with toy cars and other memorabilia. The collection was so large that the Toys for Tots Foundation stored the footlockers in multiple storage units across Cochise County.

According to an indictment, around May 2017, Mr. Jorgenson took at least 42 of the military-style footlockers filled with thousands of toy cars in original packaging from a storage unit in Hereford, Arizona. Between May 2017 and January 2019, Mr. Jorgenson, Mr. Lambert, Mr. Chavez, and Ms. Stewart allegedly worked together to conceal, transport, broker, and sell the footlockers and their contents. 

Ms. Stewart recently pleaded guilty to theft. She will be sentenced Dec. 19.
 
The FBI has recovered 42 footlockers and their contents, but additional footlockers containing part of the toy car collection may not have been recovered. Anyone with information about this case can contact 623-466-1999 or tips.fbi.gov.

The Marine Toys for Tots Program is currently in need of donations this holiday season, according to a release. The organization begins collecting new unwrapped toys in October and the campaign lasts until mid to late December. Toy distribution takes place mid to late December. Click here to find a list of places to donate in Southern Arizona.