A former Troy Police officer accused of grooming a Lincoln County teen for sex is in custody.

According to a press release from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, it received confirmation Nov. 14 that 23-year-old Layton Lee Natal Artigo turned himself in to the Santa Ana Police Department in California. Artigo will face extradition to Lincoln County for prosecution.

Artigo was sworn in as Troy’s newest member of the force on March 10, but later became the target of an investigation by the department and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. According to the criminal complaint filed Nov. 14 in Lincoln County Justice Court, Artigo is charged with two felonies, including grooming of a child for a sexual offense and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

According to a Nov. 14 news release from Troy City Hall, Artigo was fired after the Police Department and other city leaders received information about alleged misconduct involving Artigo. After the initial investigation by Troy Police and the Sheriff’s Office, Artigo’s employment was terminated.

The investigation was then turned over to the county and the Montana Department of Criminal Investigation.

“It’s obviously embarrassing, but he passed all the state and federal background checks during the hiring process,” Troy Mayor T. J. Boswell told The Western News.

Boswell said Artigo worked in law enforcement positions in two other Montana locales before coming to Troy, including for the state Department of Corrections. Boswell said when the city was interviewing candidates for the job, Artigo had the most experience of any of them. He said he believed Artigo had no previous connections to Troy.

Artigo has worked in security and law enforcement since 2021.

According to a LinkedIn page in his name, he was identified as a security site supervisor at a financial services company in Massachusetts from January 2021 to May 2023.

The page also lists Artigo as working as a correctional officer in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts Sheriff’s Department from May 2023 to December 2023. Artigo was listed as a graduate of the Correction Officer Training Program in a newsletter published by the county, which includes Boston and its immediate environs.

The page indicated he joined the Teton County Sheriff’s Office in Choteau, Montana as a deputy in February 2024. Photos of a man matching Artigo’s description were published in the May 2024 Choteau Public Schools newsletter. He was identified as a deputy sheriff who spoke to first grade students at Choteau Elementary School during its March “Cops and Cookies” event.

According to a Nov. 13 news release from Lincoln County Sheriff Darren Short, his office received a report of suspicious activity involving several underage girls and Artigo.

In the complaint, county detectives received information that Artigo may have engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with minors using Snapchat, a social media app.

County Detective Cody DeWitt went to Troy on Nov. 12 to interview a minor that was reportedly in contact with Artigo. She said the accused had spoken with her since Nov. 9 on Snapchat. He saw the Snap conversation threads and in them, Artigo allegedly insinuated he was masturbating, asked her if she could handle him and asked her when she turned 18.

In another conversation, Artigo allegedly asked the girl if “she was gonna be chill about this right,” elaborating, “I like my career” and “I don’t know what it is about you, but I want you.” When she said, “Explain,” he allegedly said he was scared and didn’t want to get caught.

DeWitt and fellow county Detective Brandon Holzer got a search warrant for Artigo’s phones, tablets, computers, TVs, game consoles as well as portable devices with internet access. When they arrived at his home, he was gone. They saw the residence was in disarray and smelled of a burned, plastic odor.

They also reported Artigo had stripped his bed and bleached certain areas of the apartment. Troy Police officer Ian Smith entered the apartment and saw black charring and smoke marks on the walls. Holzer found a melted, burned pile of plastic in the oven that he determined was a computer hard drive. They also seized a small iPhone.

Smith and Deputy Ben Fisher went to Artigo’s girlfriend’s home. She told them she spoke with Artigo after he had been fired that afternoon. She said the conversation was normal, but he allegedly asked her to grab his Smart TV. She gave it to the officers.

She said she had no idea where Artigo was and hadn’t heard from him since their conversation earlier that day. Smith continued to search for Artigo, but didn’t find him. Officials later learned he had taken a taxi to Spokane, Washington.

A conviction on the sex offense charge may result in a maximum sentence of 10 years in the Montana State Prison. Ten years is also the term for the tampering charge.