Ventura County Sheriff's Deputy Suspended, Potentially Facing Charges Following Drug Investigation

Ventura County Sheriff’s Office officials say they’ve suspended a longtime deputy because he’s suspected of stealing prescription medications from an unwanted drug disposal bin at a Sheriff’s station.

In May, an employee noticed that the amount of drugs in a bin at the East Valley Sheriff’s Station in Thousand Oaks had dropped overnight. They notified detectives, who pulled surveillance video of the area. Based on the video, they identified Senior Deputy Matt Volpe as a suspect.

They say video showed he had removed items from the bin a half dozen times. An investigation was started, and the Agoura Hills man was suspended. Search warrants were served, and detectives say they found prescription drugs in a compartment of his department motorcycle.

Investigators say they turned over their evidence to the Ventura County District Attorney’s office this week for the possible filing of embezzlement, and possession of a controlled substance charges.

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Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.