A Las Vegas police officer once celebrated for talking down an armed hostage-taker has instead landed behind bars, booked into the same jail his department runs. Officer Antonio Chavez was arrested Wednesday and charged with theft between $25,000 and $100,000, four counts of burglary of a business, and perjury, according to a release from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Chavez, who has worked for LVMPD since 2020, is assigned to the Community Safety Division within the Northwest Area Command, the department said in its release. As reported by the Las Vegas Sun, LVMPD provided no immediate public details about what specific incidents or investigation led to the charges. He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center, a facility that falls under LVMPD's own Detention Services Division, meaning Chavez was processed inside the very department he served.
LVMPD said Chavez will be placed on suspension of police powers without pay pending further investigation, a step the department has taken with other officers facing serious criminal filings this year. The LVMPD announced the arrest publicly on social media the same day.
A Decorated Record Now Under Scrutiny
The charges mark a stark reversal for an officer who, just months ago, was being celebrated by his own department. Chavez was named a recipient of LVMPD's Unit Medal of Valor in the department's Best of the Badge 2023 honors, recognized for his role in resolving a high-risk hostage situation in a crowded shopping center without officer or civilian injuries. That 2023 incident reportedly involved tracking an armed suspect who was using a woman as a human shield.
The perjury charge raises questions that remain unanswered in the public record. Because perjury involves willfully making a false statement under oath, it is unclear whether the allegation against Chavez stems from his official law enforcement duties — such as a search warrant affidavit, incident report, or sworn court testimony — or from conduct unrelated to his police work. LVMPD has not said which.
What the Charges Could Mean in Court
Nevada law treats each of the charges Chavez faces as a felony. Under Nevada Revised Statute 205.0835, theft of property valued between $25,000 and $100,000 is a category B felony carrying a mandatory state prison term of 1 to 10 years and a fine of up to $10,000. Each of his four burglary of a business counts falls under NRS 205.060, which defines the crime as entering a commercial structure with intent to commit larceny or a felony — also a category B felony punishable by 1 to 10 years per count.
The perjury count is prosecuted differently. Under NRS 199.120, perjury is a category D felony carrying 1 to 4 years in prison and fines up to $5,000. Taken together, the charges expose Chavez to the possibility of years in state prison if he is convicted on multiple counts, though no plea or trial outcome has been reported.
Part of a Wider Pattern at LVMPD
Chavez's arrest adds to a string of criminal cases against active LVMPD personnel that Hoodline has tracked through 2025 and 2026. In May, LVMPD Southeast Area Command Officer Manuel Ramangmou was arrested on a felony oppression charge for allegedly violating individuals' rights while acting under police authority. In July, active LVMPD Lieutenant Joseph Winn was arrested in Goodsprings on charges including driving while intoxicated and operating a vehicle without valid registration.
That same month, former LVMPD Officer Chandler Pike pleaded guilty to felony domestic battery by strangulation and a firearm charge, agreeing to probation and mandatory departure from the department ahead of a sentencing scheduled for this month. Earlier cases include the December 2025 arrest of Officer Philippe Dinh on kidnapping and domestic violence charges, and separate arrests of LVMPD corrections officers on child abuse and sex-related charges. Internal affairs and local prosecutors handle these criminal filings independently of the department's own administrative discipline process.
Chavez's Northwest Area Command operates out of a substation at 9850 West Cheyenne Avenue and covers a wide swath of territory stretching from northwestern Las Vegas out to rural communities near Red Rock Canyon and Mount Charleston. LVMPD has not released further details on the investigation and has not indicated when Chavez might appear in court.
