Suspended Arnold Police Chief Claims Setup, Seeks Dismissal of Charges

Arnold: So, here’s the scoop. The suspended police chief, Joshua I. Stanga, is claiming that his arrest was all a setup by his ex-wife. He’s facing some serious charges, like theft and obstruction of justice, but he’s saying there’s not enough evidence to back it up.

This whole thing started back in August when he responded to a report about a stolen car. Turns out, investigators had planted some cash and fake pills in the vehicle to test his integrity. Stanga didn’t report all the money or the pills at first, but later returned some cash along with a letter explaining his suspicions about being set up.

Interestingly, only one of the bills he returned matched the serial numbers of the cash used in the sting. His lawyer argues that since this was all a test, no real crime happened. They believe Stanga was just acting on his gut feeling that something was off.

Stanga’s been on administrative leave without pay since last August, and his situation hasn’t changed while the case is still pending. It’s a pretty wild story, and it looks like it’s far from over.