Manager of Local Utility Gets 3 Years’ Probation

The longtime manager of a water district near Ojai was sentenced Wednesday to three years’ probation after pleading no contest to charges that he stole more than $1,300 worth of water for his rental home and horse-boarding business.

Ron Singleton, who remains employed as general manager of the Meiners Oaks County Water District, was facing a possible three-year prison sentence.

But Ventura County Superior Court Judge Bruce Clark said the case wasn’t serious enough to warrant jail time.

At the request of defense attorneys, Clark reduced the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor. He said Singleton has no prior criminal record and had recently paid back the money owed.

“He did violate a position of trust,” Clark said. “‘But in the totality of the circumstances, this is misdemeanor conduct.”

Singleton was charged in August with one count of utility theft after authorities learned that two water meters on the Ojai property he leased had not measured usage for more than two years.

The water district ultimately back-billed $380 to an account in Singleton’s name and an additional $942 to an account in the name of his landlord, who has not been charged.

Prosecutors alleged Singleton used his position as district manager to prevent the agency from billing him or his landlord accurately.

Singleton denied the accusations, but later pleaded no contest to the theft charge.

Before leaving the courthouse Wednesday, Singleton vowed to run a tighter operation. He described his actions as the result of procrastination and being overwhelmed at work and in his personal life.

“I was working too much, going too fast,” he said. “It slipped through.”

In a written statement to the court, defense attorney Ed Whipple argued that his client didn’t intend to steal the water--he simply delayed fixing a broken meter, he said.

Whipple said Singleton was suffering from heart problems, a troubled marriage and a failing horse business during the years the alleged theft occurred.

“Since he could ignore at least some of his responsibilities, he did ignore his duty to replace those meters,” Whipple wrote. “I believe this is a crime of omission.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Denise Grimes didn’t see it that way.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Grimes urged Clark to sentence Singleton to six months in County Jail. Grimes told the judge her office received half a dozen letters from outraged water customers.

Suggesting the amount of theft was actually higher, she also argued that Singleton should be ordered to pay $12,000--not $1,300--in restitution. Clark questioned her math, however, and set restitution at the lower amount.

Whether Singleton will retain his position as manager of the district remains to be seen.

Board member William Burr said Wednesday the board was waiting for the criminal case to conclude before taking any action. Singleton has held the post for 21 years.

Burr declined to comment on whether he thought Singleton should remain as head of the district, saying it was a matter for the entire five-member board to discuss at an upcoming meeting.

Board member Robert Roddick also declined to comment Wednesday. But before the sentencing hearing, Roddick wrote a letter to the court supporting Singleton.

It states in part: “He has operated the district in the highest professional way and we hope that he can continue to do so. . . . I will be the first to stand by Ron and vote for him to continue as the general manager.”

Ojai Valley rancher Charles Thompson also wrote a letter on Singleton’s behalf.

Contacted after the hearing Wednesday, Thompson called the ruling “an enormous relief” and criticized the district attorney’s office for bringing charges in the first place.

“We ought to be devoting our resources in the DA’s office to big-time crime,” he said. “And this did not sound to me like big-time crime.”