Ex-Reserve Officer Charged With Embezzling

OXNARD — A former longtime Oxnard police reservist has been charged with embezzling $2,000 from a department bank account and racking up more than $1,000 in personal calls on a city-issued telephone credit card, authorities said Tuesday.

Vincent Stewart, 41, was taken into custody Saturday morning at his Camarillo home by a team of Oxnard police officers and Ventura County sheriff’s deputies who had an arrest warrant charging him with two counts of grand theft, authorities said.

After three nights in custody, Stewart, a 10-year department veteran, was due to be released from Ventura County Jail late Tuesday, a deputy at the jail said. It was unclear whether he posted bail or was released on his own recognizance.

“I’m shocked and disappointed,” Oxnard Police Sgt. Marty Meyer said of the charges against Stewart. “It’s embarrassing because we have pretty high standards we try to live up to.”

According to Meyer, Stewart, whose job was to oversee training for reservists and assist in scheduling events, was fired in January after the discovery of money missing from the Reserve Police Officer Fund.

The money in the fund is raised by reservists to be spent on activities for the volunteer officers.

Meyer said Stewart had access to the bank account because, although he was an officer, he worked in a supervisory position. The money was taken between October and January, Meyer added.

Sometime after Stewart was fired, department investigators learned he had also used a department-issued calling card number to make personal calls, Meyer said.

“He had access to a card and misused it for personal use,” Meyer said.

The sergeant declined to say how the department learned of the missing funds or the time frame in which Stewart reportedly used the calling card. He also declined to say whether Stewart made any of the alleged phone calls after he was fired, although he said the calling cards are issued only to top management for department business.

Authorities said the arrest was a disappointment for a department that prides itself on its small but active 19-member reserve force.

“He seemed real nice,” said Oxnard Police Sgt. Ron Whitney. “I know he put a lot of hours into the unit and was very involved.”

Stewart, who works a full-time job in the aerospace industry, is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 9.