Anonymous
Source: Ventura County Sheriff’s Office
A sheriff’s office employee was among three people arrested this weekend for damaging a large sign in Thousand Oaks, which displayed the letters “BLM.”
Detectives contacted Darrin Stone at his residence Friday evening while following up on several recent incidents of deliberate damage to the sign. Stone cooperated with investigators and received a misdemeanor citation for vandalism.
The sign consists of a tarp with the letters BLM painted on it and has been displayed along a fence on Westlake Boulevard for the past three weeks. It has been damaged or removed on several occasions. The owner of the sign placed a surveillance camera nearby to capture images of anyone damaging or removing it. The owner of the sign posted an image of one of the crimes on social media. When detectives saw the image posted online, they recognized the suspect as Darrin Stone and initiated a criminal investigation.
Stone was captured on camera slashing the sign with a knife on Saturday, June 13, 2020. He is accused of slashing the sign a second time in the early morning hours of Friday, June 19, 2020. Stone was off duty at the time of both incidents. In addition to being cited for vandalism, Stone has been placed on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of both criminal and administrative investigations.
Stone has been an employee of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office since 2005, and is assigned as a service technician at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility in Ventura. Service technicians are non-sworn employees who primarily work in the Detention Services Division supervising inmates within their housing areas.
“I’m deeply disappointed that one of our employees involved himself in this type of illegal activity, especially when this is an infringement on someone’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech,” said Sheriff Bill Ayub. “We will not tolerate unlawful or unethical behavior by anyone employed by our agency. We hold our employees to the highest standards, and there will be consequences for this.”
Other incidents of vandalism to the sign are also under investigation. On May 31, 2020, Craig Anderson, 59, of Thousand Oaks, cut the sign down and was going to remove it from the area when he noticed the camera and left the sign at the scene. Anderson was contacted at his residence by investigators and also received a citation for vandalism. Anderson is a non-sworn investigative assistant at the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
On June 11, 2020, a man in a work truck stopped on Westlake Boulevard in front of the sign, got out of the vehicle and spray painted graffiti on the sign. Jeffrey Moore, 58, of Thousand Oaks, was identified as the suspect in that case and also received a citation for vandalism. Moore was tracked down through the company name and phone number prominently displayed on his vehicle.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is committed to safeguarding and upholding everyone’s constitutional rights as a cornerstone of the oath to which we have sworn.
Well well well… the thugs are finally caught for vandalizing and destroying property.
That sounds kinda like what some people are doing to statues around the country.
Gosh…imagine that people working in law enforcement are hostile to black lives matter signs? Who would have thought they were so biased? I am shocked….
Well I guess that is hard to see–people removing monuments to white male Confederate traitors seem a bit different than people removing signs showing agreement or support with the idea that black lives matter. What is so radical about that idea?
So Kohn, destroying statues of historical bigots to is the same as destroying a sign promoting equality? Glad to know you’re overtly bigoted.
Because it exposes their institutional racism?
No wonder blacks have issues with the cops like these. I they have him on video he should be fired. His attitudes are hard wired by now and he cannot be rehabilitated.
Stupid idiot.
KOHN1 – you and your 2 “supporters” are wrong, completely wrong. These statues of terrorists and traitors were erected, not in support of the confederacy during the actual civil war, but as intimidation devices during the Civil Rights era in the 1950s-60s. These were erected by racist city leaders as a big middle finger to those fighting and working toward racial equality. Your viewpoint is ancient and racist.
@ 2:34: He wasn’t a cop. If you read the article, he was a “non-sworn” employee. I don’t know where the sign was, but if it was on a Westlake Blvd fence as stated, that is public property and shouldn’t have been there in the first place without a permit. I have had patriotic flags on my private property ripped down and stolen and graffiti and a toxic chemical left in both my yard and the sidewalk in front of my home. Police report was filed but I have yet to hear anything from the SBPD. I guess vandalizing a citizen’s property is ok to do if you are a BLM and Antifa member.
SACJON — Somehow that doesn’t explain pulling down General Grant’s statue. Or, the defacing of a memorial to the first UNION regiment of black soldiers In the Civil War. Also, I suspect that most, if not many of the statues were in place prior to 1950.
3:24
There is no Antifa to speak of–it’s just a boogeyman being sold to suckers. Way to suck it up.
POTIF – sorry, let me make it clear and simple for you: Taking down/vandalizing statues of traitors and slave owners is not the same as vandalizing signs that stand for racial equality. Even simpler: slave owners and traitors are bad, racial equality is good, therefore, destroying good things is not the same as destroying bad things as Kohn1 tries to compare. Does that make sense?
Antifa stands for “anti-fascist”, so if you are anti-antifa, then I guess you are in favor of fascism? Not a good belief to hold.
@ 4:17: I don’t care what their stupid hypocritical moniker means. If you think these “outstanding” anti-American Antifa thugs are “anti-fascist” by inciting riots, fires, looting, tearing up American flags, throwing bricks, rocks, and assorted debris at federal buildings while attacking people opposed to their terrorism and anarchy then I hope you never get in their way since anarchy, Nihilism, and violence is all they espouse. They are far more fascist than anyone they denounce.
Bummer, almost age 60, and ready to retire and take the pension and medical for life… Epic Fail!
Great example how hate turns people into complete morons!
Yes, by all means, keep your attention firmly fixed on a couple hundred anarchist/Antifa types who show up and break windows, which by the way is wrong, wrong, wrong…
While the President of the United States with tens of millions of followers spends much of his time “in the office” shredding at the fabric of American decency as fast as his tiny little hands can shred.
Pay attention to a couple hundred weak-ass vandals and thugs as the President of the United States literally preps his hardcore followers to engage in a violent civil war should he be voted out of office.
That statement is employing the intelligence of roughly a 4 year old. Yes…the title Antfia is short for “anti Fascist”. But obviously they are a lot more than that.
YETI – let this be a lesson to all local racists! If your boss finds out your hate is getting the better of you and you pull crap like this or even say something racist, you may find yourself on the unpleasant end of the unemployment line. And good riddance! Anyone who truly opposes racial equality should be fired and shamed. It’s 2020 folks! Racists need to go!
You’ve used the word “traitor” a lot in referring to statues. Quite a few statues exist of people who during their time were traitors or who were later acting in “traitorous” veins …just curious…do you think all statues of people who were “traitors” during their time should come down? Because that would lead down some interesting rabbit holes on a lot of different levels…
5:03 short answer, yes. Why should we have any statues in our country commemorating those who took up armed insurrection against our government in support of slavery?
It would be interesting to hear your long answer. Would this thought continue onto a world scale through history, or is it just in this one instance (the civil war)? Basically, are you saying all traitors through world history must definitively be removed or are you just referring to slave owners?
5:13 – This does not extend to the rest of the world, this is a comment about a semi-local issue and how it relates to the bigger issue playing out in the USA. I see where you’re going with this and no, not all “traitors” in world history are bad, but I’m pretty sure it’s indisputable that the confederate traitors are not deserving of statues, especially those which were erected in an act of defiance against the Civil Rights Movement less than 100 years ago. Try to stay focused, please.
How about letting us see some mug shots?
Okay, expert, what are “they”, then? Please elaborate and illuminate.
Lincoln and U. Grant are in line for quite a few new statues!!!!!!!!
Well…my grandmother is anti fascist. She’s 88. She’s not running around with a bat breaking things indiscriminately though. ANTIFA is the right’s boogeyman…they aren’t an issue or really anything of concern. But the statement of “if you are anti-antifa, then I guess you are in favor of fascism” is simplistic to point of moronic. There are many hate groups in America…and many of them have nice pleasant peaceful and loving sounding names. But to define and defend a cause based on the arbitrary name they chose is ridiculous.
Probably his policies toward the Native Americans. Like Serra.
Maybe it was the secret and illegal genocide/war of the Plains Indians?
I’m thankful for Grant’s victories against the Confederates, but for the Native Americans, he was as bad as Jackson.
They’ll come for Lincoln too…and Churchill…history has a humorous way of repeating itself.
gee wiz…..you mean that after all these years of police harassment/brutalilty against the Black & Latino communities, there could be any institutionally racist biases in the police, sheriffs, probation?
1. It was private property. 2. The property owner is allowed to have the sign. 3. Last year the property owner/resident had a sign up in the same spot for 3 months thanking firefighters and no one complained about or vandalized it. 4. Careful, your racism is showing.
Glad they got caught and, now that it’s in the public eye, we will be watching how they are prosecuted and what the ‘investigation’ will show further. These are misdemeanors but I hope that, because they are connected to ‘law enforcement’ , the punishments would be more stringent than a ‘civilian’s’.
This is not bias, we hold police to a higher standard because we pay them to enforce the law, not break it.
Dumb Basses…