Ex-Fire Dept. Clerk Admits Burglaries

A former Ventura County Fire Department supply clerk pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he broke into four stations after luring fire crews away with false alarms.

Oxnard resident Paul F. Lopez, 34, who had hoped to become a firefighter, appeared before Municipal Judge Vincent J. O’Neill in Ventura to plead guilty to four of the eight counts of burglary that were filed against him Dec. 14.

Lopez, according to an agreement between defense attorney Victor Salas Jr. and Deputy Dist. Atty. Kim Gibbons, is expected to be placed on probation and to serve no more than a year in County Jail, Gibbons said. Sentencing is set for Jan. 17.

In the first count of burglary, the crew of Station 31 in Thousand Oaks responded to a false report of a motorcycle accident at 1 a.m. last March 11, later finding that about $30 in food and money was stolen during their 15-minute absence.

On May 19, Station 46 in Simi Valley was burglarized after receiving a 911 report of a possible heart attack, and Station 34 in Thousand Oaks was hit after being called to a motorcycle accident about 35 minutes later. Both reports were false.

On Aug. 10, Station 56 in the Malibu area east of Mugu Rock was broken into after receiving yet another false report of a motorcycle accident.

The burglaries, which prompted authorities to tighten firehouse security, typically involved petty cash and sometimes personal possessions. Most, if not all, have been returned, authorities said.

In none of the cases were there signs of forced entry, leading detectives to suspect the thief either knew secret door-lock codes or had a key.

Lopez, as a supply clerk and courier, probably would have had access to the necessary keys and entry codes to door locks, authorities said.

He had been depressed, attorney Salas said last week, because a knee injury had prevented him from becoming a firefighter.