Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

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Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags
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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

Related Document: 
PDF icon complaint_-_23cr01829.pdf
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Voice of Reason
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Mar 24, 2023 06:28 PM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

You still aren’t using that word correctly. Regarding your comment about “have you seen the news”, is there a group of people those same exact things aren’t happening to? Is there ANY group immune to the hate and/or criminal acts of others?

GeneralTree
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Mar 24, 2023 06:07 PM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

Of course VOR doesn't tell the whole story. He peppers his stories to fit his far right agenda. Please tell us what someone like Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, or Ted Cruz have done for gay rights? ZERO
2009: Obama signs the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act
December 2010: Obama signs a bill repealing 'Don’t Ask, Don't Tell'
Obama instructs the Justice Department to stop defending DOMA in court, saying that he believes it is unconstitutional May 2012: Obama becomes the first president to support same-sex marriage Obama signs an executive order protecting LGBT employees working for government contractors December 2014: The Obama Administration interprets the Civil Rights Act as supportive of LGBT rights

sacjon
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Mar 24, 2023 05:50 PM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

"Today, in the United States, they can live just like everyone else." - Uh...... have you ever read/heard/seen the news? What an incredibly tone deaf thing to say. Just when you couldn't get any more wrong...... WOW. Not even going to dignify that with a list of incidents, laws, murders, hate crimes (you know, like THIS ONE YOU ARE COMMENTING ON), etc.

Winner of the Pinball Wizard Award (you might have to think a second on that one) goes to Voice of Fantasyland!

sacjon
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Mar 24, 2023 11:40 AM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

COAST - LOL!!!!! You have "NEVER seen ANY discrimination or violence directed to anyone who was gay. In fact, just the opposite. 40 (FORTY) years ago, my Mom worked in the medical profession and most of her male co-workers were Gay." - Are you gay? If not, your comment is absolutely meaningless and tone deaf.

"My mom worked with gay people, ergo there's NEVER discrimination against LGBQT people." Dude...... speechless, honestly.

a-1679680001
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Mar 24, 2023 10:46 AM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

So this is all involving "Pride Flags." I have never understood how the word "pride" came to be co-opted to mean LGBTQ. Pride is defined as "a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements." LGBTQ is a human state that just is what they were born with, not derived from any accomplishment. It is not something that they have accomplished any more that what "straight" people have accomplished by being born that way. Perhaps someone from the community can explain the logic about it, if there is any logic behind it.

Alexblue
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Mar 24, 2023 12:02 PM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

Another one who is completely full of it.

"Perhaps someone from the community can explain the logic about it, if there is any logic behind it."

Yep, just another ignorant wanker.. People like you have been working to make gay people feel ashamed of who they are for a very long time. "Pride" is how they choose to mitigate that. Now you know.

sacjon
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Mar 24, 2023 11:53 AM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

11:41 - no, it wasn't. "if there is any logic behind it." - indicates bias. I answered your question with 2 points. That you say it was "simply being critical" and I "don't have an answer," indicates you're not willing to learn at all. Stow the faux "willing to learn" bullpucky.

SBsurferlife
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Mar 24, 2023 11:28 AM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

@10:46am - this is something you could easily google and read up on. It's not the LGBTQ+ community's responsibility, or anyone else's, to teach you. Take the initiative to learn more and be inclusive instead of posting anonymously on a comment thread riddled with homophobia because it seems like you're adding to it.

sacjon
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Mar 24, 2023 10:51 AM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

10:46 - "It is not something that they have accomplished any more that what "straight" people have accomplished by being born that way." - 1) They have accomplished equality (to some degree). I think that's a pretty big accomplishment. 2) They don't need to have "accomplished" anything. The "Pride" is the expression of being who they are without hiding in the shadows, risking beatings/murder/loss of employment, etc. That you can't see why they should have pride in themselves is telling and sad.

Chip of SB
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Mar 24, 2023 09:28 AM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

It seems to me that crime and punishment today has less to do with the crime and more to do with who the criminal and the victim are. There is an increasingly popular trend to classify everyone and assign them a ranking of sorts based on how they are identified. Anyone who is assigned a low rank will face a stiff penalty for even the slightest offense against someone who is assigned a high rank. On the other hand, someone who is classified with a high rank can get away with a lot in committing offenses against someone with a low rank. A good rule of thumb to figure out where you fit into this ranking system compared to someone else is to consider a college admissions process. Assume you and the other person have identical academic qualifications and consider who would be given preference based on their identity. That person has the higher rank. It’s wise to be aware of how this system classifies you.

sacjon
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Mar 24, 2023 11:21 AM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

LGBQT are "very high rank?" LOL where? What system are you using? Oh poor little bigots are being punished because they're "very low rank." Dude, you're bigotry is showing and it stinks.

They stole and destroyed someone's property, period. They did so out of bigotry and hate. Ergo, this is a "bigger deal" than a normal petty theft. Racism, homophobia, all those things are HEINOUS and should be shamed in public accordingly. It's not about ranking, it's about being a compassionate human. You're not one.

Chip of SB
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Mar 24, 2023 11:12 AM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

Sac, I believe the punishment would be worse depending on who is involved. If the same two men committed a similar offense against a victim who was classified with a ranking similar to their own, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. Also, if two men who had a much higher ranking than these two individuals committed the same crime for the same reasons it wouldn’t have been a big deal. The reason for the severity of the punishment being sought in this instance is these two men are classified as a very low rank while the victims are classified with a very high rank.

Alexblue
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Mar 24, 2023 12:05 PM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

LOL 144.

If you support someone who uses racism and sexism and bigotry then you're enabling those things.

Look, if you voted for Trump you're either a horrible person or you got suckered. It's one or the other.

I feel sort of bad for the people that got suckered, the others, well, I can't wait to see them out rioting in the streets again when their cult leader is perp walked next week--ad of course he's the one calling for death and destruction, yet again. How much blood does this guy really want on his hands?

a-1679682840
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Mar 24, 2023 11:34 AM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

@11:22a - Not all, but many. And if those who voted for Trump are not bigoted, racist, or homophobic, then it's clearly not a dealbreaker for them to support a candidate and political party that are those things. No one is enjoying the descent of Red States as they stride closer to the Handmaid's Tale, except for the bigots, racists, and homophobes.

a-1679682144
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Mar 24, 2023 11:22 AM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

Assuming that anyone who voted for Trump, (Red Hat) is a bigot , racist, or homophobe is so short sighted. Plenty of gays, people of color, women voted to save this country from the socialist directions in which we are now heading. Enjoy the descent.

sacjon
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Mar 24, 2023 08:52 AM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

MEBK - do you really feel you need one? I bet you could find a straight male pride flag somewhere...... check the South or Idaho. I bet you want a white history month, too?

Tell you what. When us straight males become outcasts, executed by the masses, denied the right to marry and love who we want, denied basic human rights basically for a few hundred years..... THEN come back and ask for your straight pride flag.

Alexblue
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Mar 24, 2023 08:15 AM
Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags

MEBK, no we don't need that. We have always been considered the highest expression of human sexuality and the norm. Other people who have been shit on for all eternity, abused, oppressed, murdered, excluded, just because of their sexuality take some much needed solace in being able to say to the world that they too are proud of who they are.

I can see why that would threaten you. Not.

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