Chief Deputy Gary Pentis

Sheriff Bob Brooks is pleased to announce the appointment of Gary Pentis to the position of Chief Deputy effective June 14, 2009. Gary, a 30-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department is currently assigned as commander of the Special Services Division with oversight of the Major Crimes Bureau, Aviation Unit, Narcotics, Intelligence, and SWAT team. Upon his promotion to Chief Deputy, Gary will remain in Special Services and take on additional responsibilities of overseeing the Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Property Room and Information Services Bureau. “Throughout Gary’s career, he has been recognized as a high achiever and continues to serve the Department with distinction while building positive partnerships with the residents of Ventura County. His expertise in complex criminal activity make him the ideal person to lead the Special Services Division, stated Sheriff Brooks.”

Throughout Gary’s career, he has worked in virtually every division and brings vast experience from all functional and geographical areas of the Department. During his 30 years with the Sheriff’s Department, Gary’s assignments have included Detention Services, East County Patrol/Special Enforcement Unit, SWAT team member, and served ten years in Narcotics both as a Senior Deputy and Sergeant. During this time, Gary was recognized for his excellence in narcotics investigations and was named Narcotic Officer of the Year in 1986 and 1992, respectively.

In 1995, Gary was promoted to Lieutenant (now titled Captain) and worked as the Facility Manager at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility, patrol Watch Commander, East County Patrol Services Manager, and the Administrative Captain for the city of Camarillo. In 2000, Gary was privileged to serve as the Acting Chief of Police for the city of Ojai for five years. This assignment was particularly rewarding in that Gary was instrumental in helping form what was called the SAFE Coalition, a community based forum aimed to assist the at risk youth population. Along those same lines, Gary helped create the Social Host Ordinance that eventually was modeled for all Sheriff’s jurisdictions.

Gary earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Health from San Diego State University, and is passionate about life-long learning. In fact, Gary has taught nationally and internationally covering topics that include juvenile crime prevention, technology and child crimes, and social media and intelligence gathering.

Gary and his wife, Janet, have five children. He enjoys outdoor activities with his family that include racing off-road desert trucks, fishing, and hunting.