Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags
By the edhat staff
Santa Barbara County District Attorney has charged two men in the Santa Ynez Valley for stealing and burning LGBTQ pride flags and sharing it on social media last summer.
Avi Stone Williams, 18, and Joshua Jerome Eligino, 19, have each been charged with two misdemeanor counts of petty theft and one misdemeanor count of a violation of Civil Rights.
According to the District Attorney's complaint, the Civil Rights violation is described as the suspects unlawfully and knowingly defacing, damaging, and destroying personal property "for the purpose of intimidating and interfering with the free exercise and enjoyment of a right and privilege secured by the Constitution and laws of California and the Constitution and laws of the United States because of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender, and sexual orientation and because the defendant perceived that the victim had such characteristics."
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office released details of their investigation into two thefts of Pride Flags in the Los Olivos area. On July 28, 2022, deputies responded to St. Mark's in the Valley Episcopal Church in Los Olivos to investigate a report of the theft of a pride flag.
Deputies spent several days investigating the report including collecting physical evidence, interviewing victims and witnesses, and tracking down a video of the burning of a pride flag.
As a result of their efforts, deputies identified two young adult suspects in the theft who admitted to an additional theft of a pride flag in the Ballard area at a private residence, as well as the burning of one of the flags in a video they shared on social media.
A violation of Civil Rights is considered a "hate crime" under California law.
"The Sheriff’s Office takes these offenses seriously and the case has been submitted to the District Attorney’s Office requesting charges for 488PC – Petty Theft and 422.6(b) PC – Hate Crimes," the Sheriff's Office press release stated in 2022.
"In accordance with the Victims’ Bill of Rights, the District Attorney’s Office has met with the victims and members of the community and received input on how they have been impacted by these events," the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office states.
Williams and Eligino are set to be arraigned in Department 9 in the Santa Maria courthouse on April 19, 2023.
Related Articles
August 1, 2022: Sheriff's Deputies Investigated Thefts and Burning of Pride Flags
Comments Penalty Box
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61 Comments
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Mar 23, 2023 08:43 PMI think they’re total clowns. What should we do with them?
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Mar 24, 2023 08:26 AMBASIC - we should prosecute and sentence them just you guys demand we do for all those juvenile criminals.
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Mar 23, 2023 06:16 PM@ Sacjon, I won't get my panties into a bunch like you over a flag burning... It was basically a non-crime during the 2020 RIOTS when American Flags were burned by the 1000's.
These two misguided youths will be held accountable during the LGBT+ craze going on these days...
No hand wringing here.
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Mar 24, 2023 10:31 AMVOR--you're so disingenuous it's laughable.
Gay people are literally still harassed and physically attacked on the street for holding hands.
Are you seriously claiming that gay people are not subject to bigotry and hate?
Are you really?
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Mar 24, 2023 08:54 AM" the LGBT+ craze going on these days" - yeah, because it's just a fad, right? Like a fashion choice, huh? Idiot.
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Mar 24, 2023 08:25 AMCOASTLIES - another lie. ALSO, I referred to them as thieves, not flag burners. Do you even read English?
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Mar 24, 2023 12:57 AMLol when Latino kids are tagging or getting in fights they’re hardcore gang members. But when two hicks do a hate crime they’re “misguided youths.” Throw the book at these idiots and teach them and others a lesson. Nobody ever talk about what happened to gay people in the South in the recent past. Too ugly and disgusting.
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Mar 23, 2023 09:29 PMCoast - "... by the 1,000s ..." Delusional as usual.
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Mar 23, 2023 05:34 PMWhere are all those "tough on crime" con commenters now? What do you think COAST, BASIC, VOICE, SBLOCAL, BABY? Should we just let these thieves go?
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Mar 23, 2023 05:07 PMAccording to Instagram Avi Stone Williams attends Pepperdine. I wonder what the university thinks of their student committing a hate crime. Here is his account where he shows off photos of himself lifting weights... cool bro: https://www.instagram.com/asw_lifts/
And Joshua's account is private, slightly smarter than Avi: https://www.instagram.com/joshua_eligino/
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Mar 23, 2023 06:26 PMPepperdine was begot as an evangelical Christian school. The original campus on Vermont was known for the Sunday evening "holy roller" services in the chapel. I don't think Pepperdine is likely to object to the off campus "frolics" of their paying students.
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