Veteran CHP Officer Arrested Over Theft

A 17-year California Highway Patrol veteran turned himself in to authorities after a warrant was issued for his arrest on suspicion of misappropriating more than $5,000 from a private employee recreation fund, a CHP spokesman said Friday.

John Vickers, a patrol officer in the Newhall office, was an officer of an employees recreation club which maintains a small fund for parties, fund-raisers and other functions, CHP Southern Division Chief Mike Brown said Friday.

“We realized about three weeks ago that something was going wrong,” Brown said. “We investigated and determined that there was some misappropriation.”

Vickers had been on administrative leave since the onset of the investigation. Brown said the officer resigned from the CHP on Sept. 29.

A warrant was issued for Vickers’ arrest Thursday on four counts of fraud and three counts of theft, Brown said.

“We don’t know what he was using [the money] for, we just suspect he was taking it out of the fund,” Brown said. “It’s a tragic event for all of us, and a little disappointing.”

Vickers is free on $15,000 bail, Brown said, adding that an arraignment date has not been set.