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Victor Alpizar, a former part-time officer in Nesquehoning, Carbon County, was charged last week with computer theft and unlawful use of a computer and released after posting $2,000 unsecured bail, LehighValleyLive reports citing court records.
Alpizar, of the of the 800 block of Hayes Street in Bethlehem, is accused of confiscating the iPhone of a woman he arrested on a mental health warrant in September, the report says.
After driving her to St. Luke’s Hospital in Lehighton for a mental health check, Alpizar, 30, returned to the station and contacted the woman’s girlfriend with claims that he needed the phone’s passcode, the report says.
Alpizar alleged that a nurse told him the woman did not recall the code.
The woman’s girlfriend gave the code to Alpizar, who returned her phone at the hospital about an hour later and drove her home when she was released, according to investigators.
The department was later contacted about the incident, and Alpizar stated in a Sept. 9 interview that he had forgotten to return the phone and wanted to get the code in the event that police had to conduct a search.
Alpizar initially denied the incident but eventually said he unlocked the phone once in order to shut it off.
However, a forensic evaluation at the PA State Crime Lab showed that Alpizar unlocked the phone once for 18 minutes and a second time for 4 minutes, all the while looking through personal contents including photos, videos, emails, and Snapchat information.
Alpizar’s lawyer Glenn Goodge and Nesquehoning Police Chief Sean Smith both neglected to comment on the case.
Alpizar’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 29.
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