Actor Ray Buffer charged with petty theft after allegedly stealing comic books in San Diego
Actor Ray Buffer has been charged with one felony charge of petty theft after allegedly stealing comic books from a San Diego store, the San Diego City Attorney’s Office confirmed to the Los Angeles Times on Thursday.
Buffer — who has appeared on series such as “CSI: Miami,” “The West Wing,” “ER” and “Into the Wild Frontier” — is scheduled to appear in a preparedness conference in San Diego County Superior Court on Feb. 28 after a plea no guilty at his Jan. 18 arraignment, according to the city attorney’s office.
Southern California Comics has accused Buffer of picking up $854 worth of comic books from the San Diego location. In an email to The Times, Southern California Comics owner Jamie Newbold claimed that Buffer had “visited many stores, including (Southern California Comics) before getting caught.”
Security camera footage obtained by TMZ shows Buffer stuffing comic books under his clothes in Southern California Comics. In another surveillance video from an LA County comic book store, an employee tells Buffer to “leave the store immediately” after hiding comic books under his clothes.
Newbold told The Times that Buffer’s lawyer is “attempting to arrange what is called a diversionary tactic” that would “get Buffer off the hook by paying restitution for the only crime on record” at Southern California Comics. However, the comic book retailer believes his store and others “will not see a full refund until Buffer is brought before a judge.”
“We have asked the city attorney to deny diversion and allow us to appear in court against Buffer,” Newbold added. “Meanwhile, Buffer has returned to his website and social networks as if he can escape this ‘interruption in his life’.”
Buffer is a Florida native and has a longstanding presence in the Southern California entertainment and arts community. He was formerly the general manager of Long Beach Opera before starting his own theater company in San Pedro, according to his website.
Buffer, whose full name is Raymond Ernest Buffer Jr. did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment on Thursday.