Santa Barbara County – Vandenberg Village, the quiet unincorporated bedroom community of 6500 souls serving the residential needs of Vandenberg Air Force Base—one of the nation’s most active space-shot launch centers—ranks highly among the states “safest” communities and is generally free of criminal activity.
Supporting that peaceful security is the Lompoc Police Department, an agency that boasts a new police chief in the person of former Portland, Oregon police captain Pat Walsh who came in as Lompoc Police Chief on September 16th. Given his recent tenure, Walsh could reasonably be a bit nonplussed by the fact that during this calendar year, no fewer than three of his officers have been arrested and face criminal charges.
Matthew Lee Hill
The first of those involved charges of driving under the influence filed against officer David Garcia in March of this year. The second officer arrest occurred in May, with charges of felony vandalism and making criminal threats filed against LPD Sgt. Joseph Stetz pursuant to what was described in the media as “a domestic dispute”. On October 23rd, that case saw a court ruling denying Stetz access to firearms confiscated at the time of his arrest and prohibiting him from molesting, annoying, threatening, or harassing his wife.
The most recent arrest of a LPD officer involves a 911 Emergency call described by Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover as reporting “a domestic disturbance at a residence in Vandenberg Village”. When SBSD deputies arrived to investigate, they learned that the subject of the report by neighbors was Matthew Lee Hill, a 29-year old member of the Lompoc Police Department. Hill, while off-duty at the time of the alleged incident, was determined by investigating deputies to have perpetrated domestic violence upon his girlfriend, and was arrested without incident.
Hill was subsequently booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of domestic violence with his bail set at $25,000.
For anyone interested in a career in law enforcement, one might reasonably presume that in the not-too-distant future there may be some job openings in Lompoc.
Photos: Courtesy Lompoc Police Department.
Read more:
Santa Ynez Valley News: Lompoc police detective arrested for domestic violence
Lompoc Record: Recent officer arrests not connected
