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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38 Comments deleted by Administrator
61 Comments
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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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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 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 23, 2023 09:29 PMCoast - "... by the 1,000s ..." Delusional as usual.
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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 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 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 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 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 09:34 PMGeez automatically guilty. Let them go thru due process. Probably hypocrites .
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Mar 24, 2023 11:24 AMWell... they are guilty because they admitted doing it all to the Sheriff's Office. Did you read the article?
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Mar 24, 2023 06:36 AMIs there such a thing as a straight pride flag?
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Mar 24, 2023 08:07 AMMEBK - No, just red hats.
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Mar 24, 2023 08:15 AMMEBK, 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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Mar 24, 2023 08:52 AMMEBK - 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.
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Mar 24, 2023 11:22 AMAssuming 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.
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Mar 24, 2023 11:34 AM@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.
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Mar 24, 2023 11:58 AMYes, MERK, you can see them at Nazi rallies.
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Mar 24, 2023 12:00 PMSay, szq, why did you post the same thing as yourself and anonymously? That defeats the purpose.
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Mar 24, 2023 12:03 PMMERK -> MEBK (dust on my screen)
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Mar 24, 2023 12:05 PMLOL 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?
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Mar 24, 2023 12:26 PMTo say if you voted for Trump you're either a horrible person or got suckered, then to go and vote for Biden and somehow think your different, you're the sucker.
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Mar 24, 2023 12:49 PMVOICE - no. Biden isn't a bigot, racist, misogynist, cheater, or ableist. It's a lot different.
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Mar 24, 2023 02:14 PMVOR--yep, that's what I said. Which are you?
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Mar 24, 2023 02:25 PMSacjon, you'd have to ignore a lot, and I mean a lot, of information, quotes and video clips to believe that. Beyond delusional and propagandize, that's straight up alternate universe level.
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Mar 24, 2023 02:33 PMNope, it's pretty accurate.
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Mar 24, 2023 09:28 AMIt 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.
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Mar 24, 2023 09:36 AMCHIP - so theft from LGBQT people is worse than theft from straight people?
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Mar 24, 2023 10:46 AMThe exact response I'd expect from a straight white male, thanks Chip.
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Mar 24, 2023 11:12 AMSac, 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.
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Mar 24, 2023 11:21 AMLGBQT 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.
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Mar 24, 2023 11:26 AMChip, do you understand what a hate crime is?
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Mar 24, 2023 11:57 AM"Assume you and the other person have identical academic qualifications and consider who would be given preference based on their identity."
Rich people, people with connections, etc.
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Mar 24, 2023 06:15 PMChip - these two men stole and burned a symbolic object to instill fear and humiliation.
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Mar 24, 2023 09:40 AMSo disappointing that these kids didn't have the resources/pure enough hatred to buy their own pride flag to burn. They can burn all the flags they want, but by stealing they're really tainting whatever point they're trying to make.
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Mar 24, 2023 10:46 AMSo 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.
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Mar 24, 2023 10:51 AM10:46 - "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.
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Mar 24, 2023 11:28 AM@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.
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Mar 24, 2023 11:41 AMWell, it was a serious and legitimate question from someone wanting to learn. Since the responses were simply being critical of the questioner apparently I should assume that you don't have an answer.
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Mar 24, 2023 11:52 AM"Well, it was a serious and legitimate question from someone wanting to learn."
No it wasn't ... there wasn't even a question mark. When people say "I've never understood X", it's a veiled to say "X is nonsense."
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Mar 24, 2023 11:53 AM11:41 - 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.
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Mar 24, 2023 11:55 AM"Gay Pride" is much like "Black is beautiful" ... pushing back against a culture that holds being gay as something shameful and black as evil and unattractive. It's not hard to understand by anyone who wants to.
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Mar 24, 2023 12:02 PMAnother 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.
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Mar 24, 2023 12:05 PM*a veiled way to say*
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Mar 24, 2023 12:07 PMBTW, if you have "a serious and legitimate question from someone wanting to learn", why be anonymous?
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Mar 24, 2023 11:22 AMSo many homophobic and anti-LGBTQ comments. Really disappointing that people saying this stuff live in our community. Thanks Ed for deleting them.
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Mar 24, 2023 11:40 AMCOAST - 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.
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Mar 24, 2023 12:09 PM"I've never even seen myself in the mirror" -- CoastWatch
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