VENTURA : Former Gun Range Master Is Charged
The Ventura County district attorney’s office filed embezzlement charges Monday against the former range master at the Ventura Pistol Range, authorities said.
Clifton Cox, 46, of Camarillo, is suspected of stealing about $600 to $800 in cash between January and October, 1991, while he was range master at the public facility on Brakey Road in Ventura, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Greg Totten.
“He basically took cash and pocketed it from people who were shooting at the range,” Totten said. “It’s a serious offense for a public official.”
The alleged embezzlement was discovered when the city did an audit into the range’s records in late 1991, and city officials reported the discrepancy to police, Totten said.
Cox, a former Ventura police officer, was employed as range master by the Ventura Parks and Recreation Department from December, 1987, until January, 1992, when he was discharged, said city personnel officer Steve Dunn. Dunn refused to comment further.
Cox is scheduled to be arraigned today, and faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison if convicted, Totten said.
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