By Miriam Raftery

September 10, 2024 (Boulevard, CA) –Former Manzanita Tribal Police Chief Anthony Reyes Vasquez, 52, was sentenced Monday in federal court in San Diego for selling hundreds of badges and stealing $300,000 from the Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. Vasquez pleaded guilty to the charges in 2021.  

Though he could have faced up to 10 years in prison, he was sentenced to only 10 months of home confinement, 12 consecutive weekends in custody ,and three years of probation. He has also agreed to pay restitution to the tribe for the $300,000 in stolen funds—nearly half of the $700,000 in “donations” obtained for the bogus police badges.

Prosecutors have said that tribal leaders did not know that Vazquez was selling police badges and police department “memberships” to unqualified people, granting them police privileges including the right to concealed carry weapons permits.