3 Fillmore Officers Fired Over Alleged On-Duty Sex

Three deputies were notified the day after Christmas that they are being dismissed from the Sheriff’s Department for allegedly having sex with women while on duty as Fillmore patrolmen, sources said Wednesday.

Deputies Donald R. Simmons, 32, Kevin L. Wiseman and Joseph M. Preciado, both 28, have until next week to appeal the intended firing, said sources familiar with the investigation.

None of the officers could be reached for comment. But Wiseman’s wife said he told her last week he had been fired after being accused of having sex on duty with a woman who works at a local fast-food restaurant.

Sheriff Larry Carpenter and other top department officials refused comment on the case because discipline is a personnel matter and private under law.

The Ventura County Deputy Sheriff’s Assn., however, confirmed the intended firing of three deputies.

While refusing to identify the officers or their alleged offenses, union President Dave Williams said the union is supporting their defense.

“We do support these deputies in the appeal process,” Williams said. “They certainly have the right to due process and are innocent unless proven guilty.”

A department source said only misconduct is alleged and no criminal charges are contemplated because the sex was between adults and consensual.

“It was obviously some indiscretions on duty with some females,” the source said. “I can confirm the sex part.”

The misconduct charges come against three officers in the tiny Fillmore Police Department, which is staffed by deputies under a city contract with the Sheriff’s Department.

The deputies involved have been on the force from three to eight years. The oldest deputy, Simmons, joined the department in 1989. Wiseman became an officer in 1991 and Preciado joined the force in 1994.

Simmons and Wiseman were the first officers on the scene of a high-profile double homicide in the Upper Ojai in May. They took the confession of Miguel Hugo Garcia and comforted one victim’s small son while waiting for an ambulance.

Indeed, a department source said all three officers had clean records on the job. “You talk to anybody in the department and they’ll tell you they are good officers,” the source said.

Yet, the effect of the alleged misconduct was already being felt in Fillmore on Wednesday.

Wiseman’s 27-year-old wife, Laura, said he told her he was fired after being accused of having sex with a woman who works at the Fillmore McDonald’s restaurant. Although he has since left the home, the couple are attempting to work out their problems, she said.

“I’m just trying to be strong for myself right now,” she said. “This is very difficult for me.”

City officials also said they had heard about the pending firings and are taking the allegations seriously.

“Of course, any situation like this hurts any town, because the people have to have trust in their police department,” said Councilman Scott Lee. “All policemen, not just in Fillmore, have to be above suspicion and reproach.”

Lee said he is confident that Carpenter, a Fillmore resident, will conduct a thorough investigation.

“I have the utmost confidence in the sheriff’s ability to . . . take the appropriate action,” he said.

Williams said the next step in the case will be an appeals hearing before a top department official. At that point, the department can change its discipline or proceed with the firings. If the terminations stick, the deputies would likely file appeals with the county Civil Service Commission.

The pending dismissals are the latest in a series of Sheriff’s Department disciplinary actions for alleged misconduct in 1997.

In June, the department fired a female deputy at the Ojai women’s jail for allegedly fraternizing with a woman inmate and then lying about their continuing relationship. The deputy has appealed to the Civil Service Commission, claiming she was discriminated against because of her sexual orientation.

Criminal charges also were recently filed against a male deputy for alleged sexual relations with a woman inmate at the county’s Central Jail in Ventura.

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Times correspondent Scott Steepleton contributed to this story.