A former Visalia youth services officer, who is already facing criminal charges in a separate domestic violence case, has been charged with stalking and conspiring to track and harass a woman over several months, according to Tulare County Superior Court records.
The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office filed a 24-count complaint on July 28 charging Matt Conley, 48, and Cynthia Ward, 51. Prosecutors allege the pair stalked, harassed and intimidated a woman between February and July 2026 through the use of a hidden GPS tracking device, electronic communications and repeated violations of a domestic violence restraining order.
Conley, a former Visalia Police Department detective and school resource officer, was arrested in December 2025 after police responded to an off-duty domestic violence incident. He was booked on suspicion of domestic violence and false imprisonment, placed on administrative leave and later charged. At the time, police Chief Jason Salazar said the allegations did not represent the department’s “standards, professionalism, or values.”
The new complaint alleges Conley committed the latest offenses while released on bail or in that earlier case, an enhancement that could increase jail time, if he is convicted.
According to prosecutors, Conley paid for a GPS tracking device that had previously been placed on the victim’s vehicle without her knowledge and continued monitoring her movements despite a family court order prohibiting such conduct. The complaint alleges Conley and Ward used the device to locate the woman while she was dining out of town, drove to the location, secretly recorded video of her and later sent screenshots accompanied by harassing messages.
Prosecutors added that the defendants later stalked the woman at her home before Ward sent a text message stating, “Let’s go bitch, say hi to disabled boy,” followed by another message referencing the restraining order.
Ward, a former RE Max Visalia Realtor, and Conley are each charged with felony stalking and multiple conspiracy counts, including conspiracy to violate a protective order, conspiracy to commit electronic harassment and conspiracy to unlawfully use an electronic tracking device. Prosecutors also allege the crimes involved planning and sophistication and that the defendants attempted to interfere with the judicial process by intimidating witnesses.
In addition to the felony counts, Ward faces 19 misdemeanor counts of electronic harassment involving emails, text messages, Facebook messages and other electronic communications allegedly sent between November 2025 and June 2026. She is also charged with misdemeanor battery and filing a false report of a criminal offense.
Conley served more than a decade with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department before joining Visalia Police Department about six years ago. He later served as a Visalia school resource officer, where at least one complaint was filed against him. He was president of the Visalia Police Officers Association.
Conley remains behind bars in Kings County, where he’s being housed for his protection from inmates he may have arrested and fellow law enforcement he’s worked with. His bail was denied this week. Ward’s bail was set at $500,000, which she’s yet to post.
The duo is expected in court Aug. 12.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Former Visalia officer charged with stalking using GPS tracker
Reporting by Sheyanne N Romero, Visalia Times-Delta / Visalia Times-Delta
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Sheyanne N Romero, Visalia Times-Delta | USA TODAY Network
