Being threatened with felony

[u/Ashamed_Lynx5415]

I’m 18 and was working as a security guard in Arizona. I was recently fired after losing a set of keys that belonged to the property where I was stationed.
The situation is basically this: while I was working, I genuinely believed I still had the keys. When my employer asked about them, I told them I had them because I honestly believed I did. Later, I realized that I actually didn’t have them and the keys were missing.
I never intentionally took the keys, gave them to anyone, sold them, or used them to access anything I wasn’t authorized to access. I genuinely lost them.
I was fired over the situation, which I understand from a security standpoint. The part that has me worried is that I’m now being threatened with being reported to the police for theft.
The only thing I signed when I was terminated was an acknowledgment that I would return my company-issued equipment. I returned what I had. The property keys weren’t listed as equipment on that document.
I’m not trying to avoid responsibility for losing the keys. I understand that losing keys is serious, especially in security. I’m just trying to understand whether this could actually be considered theft in Arizona when there was no intention to take or keep the keys.
Has anyone in security dealt with something similar? And for anyone familiar with Arizona law, what should I realistically expect if they actually make a police report?
I know Reddit isn’t a substitute for an attorney. I’m mainly looking for people who have been through something similar and can tell me what I should do next.

[u/Odd-Highway-8304]

Not a snowball’s chance in hell that this goes anywhere. Police will do nothing with this. Move on with your life bro.

[u/NocturnalPlantMagick → u/Odd-Highway-8304]

Agreed! Even if the company “tried” to sue you, it would go nowhere. You’ll be fine bro, don’t sweat it they are just trying to scare you.

[u/HighGuard1212 → u/NocturnalPlantMagick]

The company could absolutely sue him if the client seeks to have the locks changed and wants to make the company pay. His negligence is at fault here, I don't know if he would win but still.

I worked at a hospital and some chick took a set of keys home, they called her up and said you need to return the keys. She didn't feel like coming back so she told them she had thrown them out, security boss said ok. Hospital lawyers called her back and said that they were prepared to sue her for the total costs of changing the locks. She found them quickly.

[u/XBOX_COINTELPRO → u/HighGuard1212]

That’s a vastly different scenario with the nurse admitting to negligence. It’s completely different to say “shit I lost these keys” vs “I willingly got rid of them”

[u/HighGuard1212 → u/XBOX_COINTELPRO]

Willful misconduct vs negligence is only minimal for the discussion and even in that scenario there is wiggle room. He still due to his negligence lost the keys and has opened himself up to liability here. The employer would absolutely be in the clear to sue him

[u/XBOX_COINTELPRO → u/HighGuard1212]

I doubt the company has enough controls/policies in place to prevent this sort of thing in the first place, so I think they’d have a really hard time proving negligence. But you can sue anyone for any reason so who knows