California-based actor Ray Puffer has been charged with misdemeanor theft after a comic book store accused him of stealing from their San Diego business in October.
A spokesperson for the office told The Post Wednesday that Buffer, who has appeared on shows like “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “ER,” was charged with petty theft by the San Diego City Attorney’s Office, and he pleaded not guilty to the charge in January.
The spokesperson also confirmed that the charge was related to an incident that occurred on October 4, 2022, at Southern California Comics, which at the time had Pferr publicly accused of stealing hundreds of dollars from comics.
The city attorney’s office said a preparedness conference is scheduled to take place at San Diego Superior Court on Tuesday, February 28. City officials did not say when the charges were filed, but a case involving Beaver was filed on December 13, 2022, according to online records.
The comic book store released surveillance footage of the alleged theft days after the incident, which shows a man inside the company who appears to be hiding the comics under his shirt.
Southern California Comics owner Jimmy Newbold told The Post Wednesday that he didn’t know Buffer had been charged until he got a call from a city attorney this week. He said he was glad the case was moving forward.
“I thought this issue was passed over or passed over,” Newbold said. “Now I realize that the issue is important, and therefore I shouldn’t have taken matters up a notch.”
“I was losing hope every month that I hadn’t heard anything from anyone,” he said, after he called the authorities two days after the October incident.
Newbold explained in an interview in October Originally put pictures to an unidentified man on social media to warn other comic book stores of the potential thief. Then other companies claimed the man was Buffer.
Southern California Comics Share the news of Buffer’s lawsuit In a Facebook post Wed.
Newbold wrote that the San Diego City Attorney’s office told him that Buffer’s attorney hoped to settle the case by allowing Buffer to enter a diversion program that would require the actor to pay compensation for the alleged theft.
“He really explodes if the courts allow him to pay for the crime financially,” Newbold said. “I’d rather see justice.”
Newbold estimates that about 10 comics worth about $850 were stolen.
No further information was provided about the case by the city attorney’s office and the office did not provide a defense attorney for Buffer on Wednesday night.
At least one other comic store claimed that Buffer stole from them in September, though it’s unclear if the accusations led to criminal activity.
Buffer has had other minor roles in individual episodes of “CSI: Miami,” “Gilmore Girls,” and “Cold Case.” According to his IMDb page.
He has also appeared in multiple movies, according to this profile.
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