Sports Park Guard Had Criminal Record

Dennis Myers, the Visalia Riverway Sports Park "guest host" who has admitted to stealing more than $10,000 in copper wire — shutting down the park's soccer-field lighting system in the process — has a long criminal history, public records show.

But city officials considered a full criminal-background check unnecessary because of Myers' performance as a 24-hour security employee for the contractor who built most of the sports park's infrastructure, said Visalia Parks and Recreation Department Director Vince Elizondo.

"He passed his drug test," Elizondo said. "And [he] came highly recommended by everyone we talked to."