Retired Fire Captain Faces Theft Charges

Updated 8 a.m. Friday: The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office is expected to review a case against a retired fire captain who allegedly stole a wide array of property from the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District while employed there.

 Former Contra Costa fire Capt. John Wilmot, 51, of Alamo was arrested Dec. 10 on suspicion of grand theft and second-degree burglary in connection with the alleged thefts from district fire stations, Contra Costa County sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee said.

Wilmot was released from jail the same day after posting $30,000 bail, Lee said.

According to search warrant documents, warrant operations conducted that day at Wilmot's homes in Alamo and Concord and at his mother's Orinda home turned up hundreds of items believed to belong to the fire district, including gear, supplies and uniforms.

The fire district launched an internal investigation into Wilmot in May after a co-worker reportedly spotted a chainsaw, an iron skillet and sports drinks believed to belong to the fire district in Wilmot's truck parked outside of the fire station on Mt. Diablo Boulevard in Lafayette, according to an affidavit.

The co-worker recorded video footage of the property in Wilmot's truck and passed it along to superiors.

In the months that followed, fire personnel reported seeing other property believed to belong to the district in Wilmot's truck, including welding equipment, shears, an iron skillet, chainsaw fuel and a crescent wrench, according to the affidavit.

Last October, security cameras at the closed fire station on Los Arabis Drive in Lafayette captured Wilmot leaving with a transparent trash bag full of unidentified objects.

Fire personnel who reported various items missing from stations in Lafayette told investigators that there were no signs of forced entry but that doors were found unlocked, according to search warrant documents.

Fire district officials did not return calls for comment and Wilmot could not be reached.

According to a report on NBC, a judge granted a workplace violence restraining order against Wilmot, ordering him to stay 100 yards away from employees of the fire district, NBC reported.

Search warrants executed on three homes and five vehicles belonging to Wilmot turned up 53 guns. Some warrants were executed by Lafayette police, reported the News24-680 blog.

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