Permits for Concealed Weapons Reach 8-Year High : Ventura County: List of 245 approved residents includes government officials, actors and campaign contributors.

More residents of Ventura County are packing pistols these days as the number of concealed weapon permits recently approved has reached its highest level since 1987, law enforcement records show.

The list of pistol packers includes well-connected doctors, lawyers and business owners, several judges and other high-ranking county officials, as well as two television actors.

And since 1990, when the number of permits reached an all-time low of 177, the sheriff and police chiefs of the county have quietly allowed the list of residents carrying concealed weapons to grow to 245--a 39% increase.

Under state law, concealed weapon permits are issued by the top law enforcement official of each community. In Ventura County, Sheriff Larry Carpenter has the authority to grant any county resident of good standing a permit, while the police chief in each city with a police department has authority within the city’s limits.

Officials such as Oxnard Police Chief Harold Hurtt say they maintain tight control on the permits.

“If we never have another gun put on the street, we’d still have too many out there,” Hurtt said.

He said since taking the helm in July, 1992, he has issued two of the 21 permits held by Oxnard residents. Hurtt said applicants must document a threat to their lives or be involved in a high-risk job.

“I’m pretty strict,” he said.

But that’s a problem with critics of the system. Ventura County gun owners such as Simi Valley Councilwoman Sandi Webb said the permitting process is fraught with cronyism and favoritism.

Webb raised a furor recently when she announced that she illegally hides a loaded handgun in her purse when she drives to Los Angeles.

Webb said she was told that under normal circumstances, she would not qualify for a concealed weapons permit. But she believes that she could get one if she applied political pressure.

“Frankly, I don’t want special privileges,” she said. “Those are the people who have permits.”

Webb’s viewpoint is shared by members of the National Rifle Assn., which says that every law-abiding citizen is entitled under the Second Amendment to carry a concealed weapon. “What you will find a lot of times is that the concealed weapon permit is a political gift,” said Ed Worley, an NRA spokesman in Sacramento.

Indeed, the list of residents granted a permit by Sheriff Carpenter does read something like a who’s who list.

County officials, from Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury to Tax Collector Harold S. Pittman, and several of their employees are allowed to carry concealed weapons.

Actors Larry Hagman and Tom Selleck have been granted the privilege, along with several judges, Thousand Oaks mortician Thomas L. Griffin, Egg City Chief Executive Officer Richard F. Carrot and Thousand Oaks Building and Safety Director Barry J. Branagan.

They all list the same reason for their need to pack a pistol: protection.

“We are not loved by all,” Bradbury said, explaining why he and several of his deputies have permits.

Frequently, deputy district attorneys investigate crimes alongside police officers and need guns, Bradbury said. Furthermore, he and his deputies routinely receive threats from those they prosecute, he said.

“In fact, I’ve received a very specific threat in the last 30 days,” he said.

Other carriers of concealed weapons include some of Carpenter’s biggest campaign contributors. Carpenter was appointed sheriff in 1993 and successfully stood for election in 1994.

Abbis Paymard, owner of an Agoura automobile smog-check center and a reserve sheriff’s deputy, and his wife donated $1,500 to the sheriff’s election campaign last year. Carpenter last year renewed Paymard’s permit, which was granted several years ago by then-Sheriff John Gillespie.

“Like every other police officer, I carry it for protection,” Paymard said.

Automobile dealer Gary Nesen, attorney Alan Wisotsky and mobile-home park owner Leonard W. Butler Jr. also contributed to Carpenter’s campaign and all had their permits renewed in the last year, records show.

At least seven other campaign contributors had their permits renewed or granted by Carpenter. The sheriff did not return telephone calls seeking comment for this story, but some contributors say there is no link between their donations and the permits.

Malcolm Jackson of Fillmore, for instance, contributed $100 to Carpenter’s campaign and had his yearly permit renewed in June. But the 77-year-old Jackson said the contribution has nothing to do with the permit, which he received 58 years ago.

“I had that permit before Sheriff Carpenter was born,” he said. Jackson said he often hunts and fishes with Carpenter, who lives about half a mile away.

“I’ve known him all of his life,” Jackson said, explaining why he contributed to Carpenter’s campaign. “I have a very good relationship with him and the department.”

The retired oil field worker said he carries a .357-caliber gun everywhere he goes--more out of habit than fear.

“I have shot and repaired guns all of my life,” he said. Getting a permit when he was 19 “was something that just happened.”

He said he has never pulled his gun on another person.

“If I do pull it, I plan to use it,” he said. “I have never had a reason to use my gun.”

Dentists and doctors are also found in abundance on the list. They all cite the need for protection because they handle drugs or travel in dangerous areas.

Cardiologist and North Ranch resident Irving Kent Loh said he carries a pistol when he travels to unsavory neighborhoods to provide free medical care. His wife, Trudi Loh, is running for a seat on the Thousand Oaks City Council.

Simi Valley saw the largest increase in permits, with the city’s two former police chiefs having issued 12 permits in the last five years, compared to one in 1990. Webb attributed the increase to concern generated by the Rodney King verdict reached in Simi Valley. The verdict, acquitting the police officers who beat King, sparked riots in Los Angeles and brought threats of retribution in Simi Valley.

Ventura County, despite the 39% increase in permits over the past five years, still issues far fewer permits than the typical California county and only a fraction of the state-high 3,703 permits issued in Kern County as of 1993. San Francisco County reported just five approved permits in 1993, the California Department of Justice said.

Further, the 245 issued in Ventura County is half the number issued a decade earlier.

“I’m not hesitant to issue one,” Santa Paula Police Chief Walter H. Adair said. “I’m cautious.” Adair has renewed or granted five permits to city residents, three more than were allowed in 1990.

But for the NRA and Webb, Adair and his colleagues are too cautious in issuing permits, which involves fingerprinting, criminal background checks and fees totaling more than $100.

“There are some real problems with the system,” Webb said. “We are in a deadly Catch-22. Although they say you can protect yourself, they don’t allow you to carry a weapon. There are a lot of people with tags on their toes that found that out.”

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Concealed Weapon Permits

By police agency 1983 1990 1995 Sheriff’s Dept. 369 156 200 Oxnard 38 14 21 Simi Valley -- 1 13 Santa Paula 2 2 5 Ventura 7 2 3 Port Hueneme 3 2 3 County Total 432 177 245

SOURCE: Ventura County Sheriff’s Department and city police departments.