Debt May Have Lured Deputy to His Death : Crime: Investigators say that personal finances may have been the motive for the lawman’s botched robbery that cost him his life.

The Sheriff’s Department is investigating whether Michael Stanewich, the deputy slain last week by another officer in the midst of an armed robbery attempt, was financially strapped and needed quick cash, Sheriff Jim Roache said Thursday.

“We have indications of some financial difficulties,” he said. “Whether it was severe enough to take the kind of drastic step he took is unknown. But that’s a possibility we are going to pursue as a potential motivating factor.”

Stanewich, 36, was shot to death July 3 by a fellow deputy and friend from the Encinitas sheriff’s station. At the time he the shooting, Stanewich was beating Donald Van Ort as he demanded the combination to a safe in Van Ort’s Olivenhain home.

On a visit to Van Ort’s home in late May to search for narcotics, Stanewich, accompanied by five other deputies, ordered Van Ort to open his safe. When Stanewich looked inside, he saw about $100,000 in cash.

No narcotics were found at the home. Homicide investigators have told Roache that Stanewich had money troubles but have not described how much Stanewich owed or for what.

Court records show that Stanewich was divorced from his first wife in 1984 and had 14- and 15-year old daughters from that marriage. He and his first wife were married in 1973 and separated in 1983. The couple’s assets and liabilities at that time included two cars, a motorcycle, a $4,500 personal loan, a $2,000 bank loan and credit card expenses.

After the separation, Stanewich was ordered to pay $150 a-month per child and $200 per month spousal support.

The couple were divorced in 1984. In the divorce, Stanewich kept his 1977 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, valued at $3,500 but assumed $4,450 in taxes and debt.

His ex-wife kept a 1977 Chevrolet van, valued at $2,000, the family furniture, valued at $3,000, the couple’s life insurance policies, and she assumed $2,830 in taxes and debt.

At the time, Stanewich listed his yearly salary at $22,488. His wife’s salary was $13,392.

In 1984, Stanewich fell $600 behind in child-support payments and was ordered to pay the full amount. Stanewich’s ex-wife was granted sole custody of the children that same year, court documents show.

Two years later, his ex-wife was granted a restraining order to keep Stanewich away from her and the children. In 1987, she garnisheed $2,579 from his credit union account because of his failure to pay his share of a bank loan, the records show.

Stanewich’s second wife, Kathy, is a county probation officer. He jokingly told friends that they “had met in jail” when they both worked at the downtown detention facility. They had three children, a 3-year-old girl, a 4-year-old girl and a 22-month-old boy.

They bought a $205,000 home in San Diego and had a $164,000 mortgage. A 1981 Chevrolet sedan is registered in his name. Stanewich’s salary as a deputy was about $40,000 a year. His his widow earns a similar salary.

Capt. Bob Apostolos, the head of the Encinitas station where Stanewich worked, said he had no idea whether or not Stanewich had money problems.

“You would kind of anticipate something like that, given the robbery,” he said. “It would not only seem plausible but a fairly good explanation. But he never mentioned it to me, and I haven’t heard it from anybody else around here.”

The cash that Stanewich purportedly observed in the safe came from the sale of a family farm owned by Helen Van Ort, 82, who was also bound and gagged during the robbery attempt. County property records in Valparaiso, Ind., indicate that Helen Van Ort sold the 10-acre farm in 1989 for $144,000.

Robert Ketterman, the owner of the farm, said Helen Van Ort had recently inquired about buying it back.

Meanwhile, Donald Van Ort has said he is putting his house up for sale because he no longer feels safe there. He said the house was appraised Tuesday.

Roach said Thursday that the investigation into the bizarre robbery will continue for another three weeks to a month. He said seven or eight detectives are working full-time on the case.

Roache said that, as the investigation continues, the possibility becomes less that a second deputy was involved in the armed-robbery attempt, something alleged by Donald Van Ort.

“We have not discounted the possibility, but the likelihood is diminishing,” Roache said. Times staff writer John M. Glionna contributed to this report.