An ex-sheriff's deputy is accused of attending several wedding receptions uninvited and stealing at least $3,000 from each couple

• A former deputy was arrested after police said he stole wedding gifts from multiple couples.
• Police said Landon Earl Rankin pretended to be a wedding guest twice in April and stole thousands.

A former sheriff's deputy was charged after he was accused of posing as a guest and swiping their gifts at several weddings in Arizona, according to police.

Landon Earl Rankin was arrested on Wednesday and charged with two counts of burglary, the Chandler Police Department said. Additionally, he is facing drug charges because police said he was in possession of fentanyl and methamphetamine was he was taken into custody.

Police said Rankin attended two weddings in April. He pretended to be a guest and allegedly stole the wedding card boxes at both receptions containing thousands of dollars, according to police. Authorities noted that each box had an estimated $3,000 to $6,000 inside.

According to a probable-cause statement, Rankin was captured on video taking a card box at one of the weddings before leaving the scene in his car, the Associated Press reported.

The outlet reported that the 54-year-old claimed he went to the wedding to hear vows because he was " going through a divorce," per the statement. Chandler police said that Rankin was linked to multiple wedding thefts in the area.

"After Rankin's arrest, police connected him to eleven incidents of wedding card box thefts in the east valley," police said.

The Associated Press reported that Rankin retired from the Pinal County Sheriff's Office in 2015, but served as a reserve officer for two years until 2017.