Adrian Muñoz, 36 (born October 22, 1989, and a Los Angeles resident), formerly worked as a medical examiner investigator for the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s office (previously the Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner) since 2018.

On April 10, 2026, he pleaded no contest in Los Angeles Superior Court (case BA519016) to one felony count of grand theft and one misdemeanor count of petty theft. These charges involved stealing personal items from deceased individuals during death investigations he was assigned to handle.

On January 6, 2023: Muñoz responded to the death of a warehouse worker in South Los Angeles who died of a heart attack on the job. Surveillance footage showed him removing a gold crucifix necklace from the deceased man’s neck and placing it in his medical bag. He did not return the item to the family or document it on the required property receipt.

The warehouse worker was previously identified by his family as Miguel Solorio. They told the Los Angeles Times in 2023 that he had worn the necklace for decades.Solorio had been a roughly 10-year employee of Hylands, working in a warehouse where homeopathic products were loaded, unloaded, managed and shipped.

Rosalba Solorio, Miguel’s daughter-in-law, who also worked at Hylands, said a representative of the district attorney’s office had called the family to tell them that Muñoz had been arrested.

“We’re happy the investigation didn’t just fall through the cracks,” she said. “They actually did something about it and hopefully we’ll see justice for my father-in-law.”

An employee of Hylands, who asked for anonymity for fear of retribution, told The Times that Muñoz had been called to take care of Solorio’s body. According to the employee, a security camera at the warehouse caught Muñoz removing the necklace from the body, placing it in a glove and then slipping it into his medical bag. The footage also showed Muñoz taking cash from the front pocket of the man’s pants and, again, slipping it into a glove in his medical bag.

“There is something especially appalling about stealing from the dead. During a time when dignity and respect should be absolute, Mr. Muñoz chose greed,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. “Today’s plea is a step toward justice, but it cannot undo the additional trauma inflicted on families who were already dealing with loss. Thank you to Deputy District Attorneys Brandy Chase and Kristopher Gay of the Justice System Integrity Division for their work to ensure the defendant was brought to justice.”

Muñoz is scheduled to be sentenced June 5 in Department 113 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Muñoz is expected to be sentenced to two years of formal probation, serve 180 days in Los Angeles County jail, permanently resign from the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) and pay restitution to each victim’s family.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorneys Brandy Chase and Kristopher Gay and investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.