FILLMORE : Deputy’s Bail Cut in Spouse Abuse Case

Bail for a Ventura County sheriff’s deputy charged with spouse abuse was reduced to $10,000 Thursday after his estranged wife testified that she does not fear he will harm her.

Deputy Kenneth Matye, 27, who had been held in lieu of $100,000 bail since his arrest May 31, was released later Thursday, a jail official said.

Matye is charged with felony spouse abuse and a special allegation that he was armed with a knife during an incident at his Fillmore home March 6.

At the hearing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Mary C. Peace said Matye grabbed his wife, Jennifer, by the neck, lifted her off the ground and tried to choke her. Matye also is accused of holding a knife against his wife’s throat, although she was not cut.

The couple were separated at the time and are getting a divorce, according to testimony at the hearing.

The investigation has taken several months because the incident was not immediately reported and because Jennifer Matye has not cooperated, another prosecutor said. On Thursday, the wife acknowledged that she had been choked but denied that her husband menaced her with a knife or threatened to kill her.

A district attorney’s investigator, Joseph Cipollini, testified that there was evidence that Matye had threatened to kill his wife if the incident resulted in his dismissal from the Sheriff’s Department.

Cipollini said he learned last week that Matye was going to be fired.

“In my opinion, I had no choice but to arrest him,” the investigator said.

However, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said Matye has not been fired but has been placed on administrative leave until the case is resolved. He continues to receive his full salary, the spokesman said.

The issue at the bail hearing was whether Matye is likely to flee or hurt someone while on bail. His attorney, Richard W. Hanawalt, said there was no evidence that Matye posed a danger to anyone.

In granting the bail reduction, Municipal Judge John J. Hunter said there was no evidence of any misbehavior since March 6. He scheduled a preliminary hearing for July 10.