Actor Ray Buffer is officially going up against prosecutors for his comic book theft debacle ... which includes surveillance video of him allegedly swiping merch.
A rep for the San Diego City Attorney tells TMZ ... Ray's been charged with one count of misdemeanor petty theft over the October 2022 incident. We're told the actor pled not guilty at his arraignment in January, and a further court hearing is scheduled next week.
As we reported, Southern California Comics claims Ray took $600 worth of comic books, and handed cops security cam footage of the whole caper.
Another comic shop -- this one in L.A. County -- said it had similar footage from their store of Ray attempting to swipe comics. That owner was seen on camera booting him out of the store over it.
The owner of Southern California Comics tells TMZ … he was told by the City Attorney's office that Ray's lawyer is attempting to cut a deal to handle the matter by paying restitution to the shop and entering a diversion program -- but the shop owner doesn't think such a slap on the wrist is enough.
Ray has more than 100 acting credits to his name, appearing in TV shows like "ER" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and most recently "Into the Wild Frontier".
We reached out to Ray for comment ... so far no word back.
With great alleged thefts comes great responsibility.