The former Anchorage Police Department spokesman whose time with the force ended after a shoplifting charge told officers that he’d previously stolen goods from the same department store, according to documents in the case.
Police said last week that Christopher Barraza, 40, resigned as deputy director of the department’s Community Relations Unit after he was charged with shoplifting from the Target store in South Anchorage. Barraza had allegedly been wearing an APD jacket, according to the department, but was not acting in an official capacity at the time.
Barraza is charged with third-degree theft, a misdemeanor. A charging document in the case filed Tuesday describes Barraza stealing various items from Target over three years, including a Christmas tree, cat litter and underwear. The document, signed by an assistant district attorney, says he often either didn’t scan the items at self-checkout or he swapped barcodes to pay lower prices.
The charges say all but one of the six incidents occurred before Barraza began working for APD in December of 2024. The total value of stolen and recovered goods, about $590, falls below Alaska’s $750 threshold for felony shoplifting charges.
Barraza did not respond Thursday morning to messages.
According to the charges, the head of Target’s loss prevention staff provided police on Aug. 21 with photographs and video surveillance footage of Barraza shoplifting over the years.
Here are the incidents the charges describe:
- The first took place in November 2022, when Barraza allegedly “skip scanned” $240 of goods including a Christmas tree at a self-checkout machine.
- In January of 2023, police said Barraza loaded bags with a mix of scanned and unscanned items, including about $100 in stolen goods.
- That March, Barraza allegedly saw security personnel and removed a “falsified barcode” from a $27.49 bag of cat litter, which was also stolen.
- In July, prosecutors said Barraza picked up a variety of office supplies, but only scanned the smaller items at self-checkout. Security then trespassed him from the store and he turned over about $98 in what prosecutors described as attempted stolen items.
- More than a year later, in October 2024, police said Barraza scanned most of his items from a clothing purchase – except a $13.49 pair of underwear.
Then, this August, Target staff called the police. They said that on Aug. 19 Barraza allegedly removed $2.10 price tags from three small storage boxes and used them to cover price tags on three shirts. He then checked out with the shirts, which were worth $106.
Detectives who spoke with Barraza on Aug. 22 said he initially denied switching tags or shoplifting from Target. Eventually, police said he confessed to a pattern of theft, according to the charging document.
“Christopher admitted to similar behavior in the past but said he stopped for awhile before starting again in June,” prosecutors wrote in the charges. “Christopher said he shoplifted on two occasions since he’s worked at APD, one in June and on (Aug. 19).”
The charges do not mention a June incident. They say that Barraza also admitted to being confronted by security staff at Target and being trespassed from the store a few years ago, according to the charging document.
“Christopher said he stayed away from the store and then returned once the year trespass was over,” prosecutors said.
Barraza resigned on Aug. 22. Municipal records list his annual salary at just over $90,000.
Court records show no prior theft-related criminal cases against Barraza, but five Anchorage traffic tickets from 2009 to 2023. He had worked with Special Olympics Alaska and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska as well as some retail jobs before joining APD, according to his LinkedIn page.
Gina Romero, head of APD’s Community Relations Unit, said in an email Thursday that Barraza underwent a hiring review that would flag prior arrests and convictions. The state Department of Public Safety also reviewed his record during his clearance to access criminal-justice information.
“If he was convicted of a crime prior to being employed by APD, it would have appeared during this process,” Romero said.
Romero declined to say whether Barraza was offered the chance to resign in the wake of the Target arrest or did so before APD could fire him, citing personnel confidentiality issues.
“If the Anchorage Police Department became aware that an employee made omissions during a hiring process, APD would investigate and take appropriate action,” she said. “Omissions are grounds for termination.”
She also noted that all APD policies and procedures have been undergoing a review under Chief Sean Case.
“Anytime there is significant misconduct by an APD employee, particularly if there is an indication that it occurred prior to employment, we review the hiring process to ensure we did not miss something and if modifications need to be made during the background process,” Romero said.
The case comes as retailers readdress the use of self-checkout machines for a variety of reasons, including theft. CBS News reported in January that Target and Walmart were moving to limit self-checkout, with Fox Business reporting that Target suffered nearly $500 million in 2022 losses to shoplifting and inventory errors.
Court records show Barraza was released from custody on Aug. 22 on his own recognizance. His next scheduled court date is Sept. 26.
