Ex-Officer Pleads No Contest to Theft

A former Ventura police officer accused of shoplifting $25 worth of dog vitamins at a local pet store pleaded no contest Thursday to charges of petty theft and witness intimidation.

David Matz, 58, faces one year in County Jail when sentenced Feb. 3 in Ventura County Superior Court.

Police say Matz walked into a Petco store in the 4000 block of East Main Street in August while in uniform and took a $25 jar of dog vitamins from a shelf. Authorities say he stuffed the bottle into his uniform jacket and left the store without paying.

A store employee followed Matz and wrote down the license number of his police car. Matz later returned to the store and urged the employee not to report the theft, police said.

Petco officials reported the incident, and when police officers searched Matz’s home Sept. 3 they discovered a sealed container of dog vitamins, authorities said. Matz was arrested and released after promising to appear for arraignment.

Matz was charged with petty theft and dissuading a witness, a crime that carries a one-year jail sentence. Petty theft carries a six-month jail sentence, but authorities said it is unlikely Matz will be ordered to serve more than one year in jail because he has no prior criminal record.

Throughout his 15-year tenure with the Ventura Police Department, Matz has been assigned to the storefront in downtown Ventura and the department’s Drug Awareness Resistance Education program. He was placed on paid leave after the incident, and he resigned Sept. 30.