Fire Captain Held After Grand Jury Indictment

A Ventura County fire captain was jailed Thursday after prosecutors unveiled a six-count grand jury indictment that charges him with felony drug sales and weapons possession.

The indictment of William Handy, 48, of Newbury Park came nearly four weeks after he was arrested on suspicion of selling drugs to a police informant.

The 22-year firefighter, who had been free on bail, appeared in Superior Court with his attorney on Thursday. Judge Allan Steele ordered him held at the Ventura County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

The county grand jury indicted Handy Wednesday on three counts of selling methamphetamine, two counts of possessing weapons and one count of being under the influence of methamphetamine.

Handy was arrested Dec. 21 in the sale of half an ounce of methamphetamine to a police informant in an Albertson’s supermarket parking lot on Reino Road in Newbury Park, authorities said.

Acting on a tip that Handy had sold drugs from his Newbury Park home, deputies also served a search warrant on the house and seized the weapons, prosecutors said.

Dressed in a sport coat and tie, the burly defendant stood next to his attorney, Louis B. Samonsky, throughout the 20-minute hearing. Samonsky said that Handy checked into a drug rehabilitation program a week after the arrest.

Asked about the charges against his client, Samonsky said, “The fact that he is in rehabilitation speaks for itself.”

Handy is on paid administrative leave from his Piru station duties, Samonsky told the judge. Handy is completing his resignation from the department, Samonsky said.

At the hearing, prosecutors urged the judge to set bail at $150,000, arguing that the defendant is a significant danger to the public. But Steele chose the lower bail, $50,000, because Handy has appeared for two court dates and has strong ties to the community.

The judge said he was concerned, however, that investigators reported finding a miniature napalm bomb and a live detonator at Handy’s home after his arrest. He said he would consider hiking the bail at Handy’s arraignment on Jan. 31.

Arguing for the higher bail, Deputy Dist. Atty. Charles Roberts said that narcotics detectives believe Handy has continued to traffic in drugs since his arrest last month.

“It is business as usual at the Handy house,” Roberts told the judge, quoting a letter one neighbor wrote to officials on Dec. 31.

Roberts’ main argument for detaining Handy, though, was that the defendant is dangerous. During the search of Handy’s Denise Street home, investigators discovered the napalm bomb under a bed in a steel ammunition box, Roberts said. The device is capable of spreading napalm 20 yards in all directions, he said.

“Obviously, drug usage has affected his judgment,” Roberts said. “Anyone who has been a fireman should know not to keep a miniature napalm bomb.”

Investigators also seized from Handy’s garage a blasting cap that Roberts described as a rocket.

Samonsky downplayed the significance of the weapons, explaining that napalm bombs are commonly used by firefighters to start backfires.

“It was nothing ominous at all,” he said.

Roberts, though, said the Fire Department has not used such a device in more than a decade. “He didn’t get it from the Ventura County Fire Department, unless he filched it 10 years ago.”

As for the detonator, Handy bought it at a weapons show at the county fairgrounds but was under the impression that it was not live, Samonsky said.

Steele said he was concerned about the weapons, especially the napalm bomb. “Even if it was used by the Ventura County Fire Department to set backfires, what is it doing under his bed?” the judge asked.