VENTURA : Ex-Policeman Pleads Guilty to Theft

A former Ventura police officer has pleaded guilty to a grand theft charge stemming from his management of the Ventura Pistol Range.

Clifton L. Cox, 46, of Camarillo is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 29. In exchange for Cox’s guilty plea last week, Superior Court Judge Allan L. Steele agreed to sentence him to no more than one year in the County Jail, Deputy Dist. Atty. James Grunert said. The charge of grand theft by embezzlement carries a maximum term of three years in prison.

The thefts involved between $600 and $800 that Cox pocketed last year while managing the pistol range, investigators said. The range, operated by the Ventura Parks and Recreation Department, is near Grant Park in the hills above Ventura.

A second charge of embezzling public funds will be dismissed when Cox is sentenced, Grunert said. Conviction on the second charge would not have resulted in a longer sentence, Grunert said.