The wife of a former Santa Rosa Junior College police officer was arrested Thursday morning, suspected as an accessory to her husband's alleged theft of thousands of dollars from campus parking meters, Santa Rosa police reported Thursday.
Detectives arrested Karen Holzworth, 49, at her Santa Rosa home. She was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on three counts of receiving stolen property and one count of being an accessory to a felony.
She was released from custody Thursday after posting a $45,000 bail bond, according to jail records.
Her husband, Jeffrey Holzworth, 51, was arrested in late November but charges weren't filed as prosecutors said they needed time for further investigation.
The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office filed a complaint Wednesday accusing him of 12 felonies. They include one count of felony grand theft and 11 counts of receiving stolen property, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Holzworth and his wife are expected to be arraigned later this month.
Jeffrey Holzworth was an SRJC police officer for 28 years before his arrest. One of his duties was collecting money from parking meters on campus and at a public safety training site in Windsor.
Detectives suspect that he kept some of the coins and bills from meters he managed. How much was stolen has not been determined, but police believe it was at least several thousand dollars over at least five years.
Evidence showed the money was used for a variety of things, including living expenses.
"She was using the money as much as he was. They were doing it together," Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Mike Lazzarini said.
Santa Rosa detectives began investigating Holzworth last fall after a sergeant came forward with long-standing suspicions about the officer and the meter money.
The sergeant reported seeing coins and cash in Holzworth's possession.
You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.
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