Anonymous
Update by Derek Johnson, City Manager of San Luis Obispo
This evening, a man called the Sheriff’s Office and said his brother-in-law was in possession of the firearm and that he would bring him to the Sheriff’s Coastal Division in Los Osos to return the gun. Sheriff’s officials verified the gun Mangan had was the stolen firearm.
Investigators from the San Luis Obispo Police Department then went to Los Osos to recover the firearm and interview the suspect who was identified as Skeeter Carlos Mangan, 30.
During the interview, Mangan admitted to finding the firearm in the restroom at El Pollo Loco, putting it in his pocket, and returning home to Los Osos.
We want to thank the community for their support and help in locating the firearm by sharing information on social and online media. Broad community awareness helped law enforcement quickly identify Mangan.
Source: Derek Johnson, City Manager of San Luis Obispo
Earlier [Wednesday], just after noon, Police Chief Deanna Cantrell was eating lunch at the El Pollo Loco on Los Osos Valley Road. She went to the restroom and inadvertently left her personal firearm in the stall. Within minutes, she realized her mistake and went to the restroom to retrieve it, but it was no longer there.
Chief Cantrell obtained video footage from the business and observed a man entering the same restroom minutes after she left. He is described as balding, wearing a black jacket, lime green and blue striped shorts and sunglasses (photo attached). He remained in the restroom for approximately two minutes and then left through the same entrance where he had entered, near the Dicks Sporting Goods parking lot.
After the man left the restroom, a boy approximately 10 years old entered and left, followed by an adult man. Both were still in the restaurant and questioned. Neither reported seeing a firearm.
The San Luis Obispo Police Department is continuing its investigation and asks anyone with information about this incident to call (805) 781-7312.
I want to assure our community that protecting the public’s safety is our number one priority. I have personally spoken with Chief Cantrell, who apologized for this mistake and has voluntarily agreed to attend training on firearms safety practices. She has also vowed to use this incident as a training opportunity for all officers in the department. Having carried a firearm safely for 25 years, she is committed to serving as an example of the level of vigilance that must be maintained at all times, regardless of experience or rank.
Source: SLO Police Chief Deanna Cantrell
I talk about transparency, and therefore want to be as transparent as possible when we do things right as well as when we do not. I believe in our relationships being built on trust, and hope that this furthers that goal. I inadvertently left my firearm in a public restroom and it has not been recovered. I have no excuses for my actions, and understand they were irresponsible and careless. Thank you for sharing and watching. Please see the link to the video below.
Thank you for the response. Wow, just wow.
To the downvoters – you really think it’s OK for a cop to ask someone to bring the gun they left on a sidewalk down to the station for them? Really? What if they handled it carelessly? What if the 10 year old started playing with it? Why do you just blindly support such laziness and neglect?
When a captain of a Navy ship runs aground he/she/it loses their commission to be captain of a ship. The only vessel they get to command is a desk in an office. Maybe she doesn’t get fired but perhaps she loses her commission as chief of police.
Yeah I find this whole thing to be terrifying! If he uses that gun to harm someone she is culpable, she was negligent and this is a massive and dangerous mistake!
More than embarrassing, not real smart.
Wow, she should be fired. And now trying to make a big deal about the possible “suspect” as a deflection from the real crime – a cop leaving her gun in the bathroom! It’s sad how they bury the story here and focus on the guy who may or may not have taken a free gun he found in the bathroom.
Did you watch the video where she takes full responsibility and is transparent? No burying here but nice try.
I’m talking about the article itself.
And any cop who leaves his/her gun in a bathroom in a public place should lose their job, no matter how “transparent” they are.
PITMIX. I agree. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones: They should go outside, so as to get a better aim at the house.
is it legally considered theft when you find something?
She didn’t deflect … claiming that is transparently dishonest.
That is unacceptable! She should step down as Police Chief!
lol, yeah i’m not sure what i think the best decision there is. maybe i would call the police while staying in the bathroom? or have someone go get the manager to stay with it while calling the police? i wouldn’t want my fingerprints on it in case it was involved in a crime at all and abandoned
$h1t Happens…
At 11:28 – sounds like a typical lazy cop. I can’t believe some of the people we’re expected to entrust with our safety.
Those among you that have never made a stupid mistake are allowed to criticize. The rest of you should remember what happens to people that live in glass houses.
I’ve made some mistakes, yeah. I’ve lost my keys, wallet, watch, etc (and then found them). However, I’m not a Chief of Police and I’ve never left my loaded firearm in a public bathroom. So, it’s a little different scale there, ol’ Pitmix!
4793…My apologies. I stand corrected!
Before taking more potshots, add ten pounds to your belt and then try using a public toilet, making sure nothing touches the wet floor. Give the woman a break – she’ll never make that mistake again.
Grounds for dismissal. Done. Unacceptable.
I’m personally glad the guy took it before the 10 year old went in and found it. That could have ended really badly!
Umm I’m a liberal and I find her negligence disgusting. Don’t generalize, it’s a sign of lack of intellect!
Yes, and once again, they put the blame on the guy who found a gun in a bathroom… https://www.keyt.com/news/san-luis-obispo-county/breaking-san-luis-obispo-police-chief-s-gun-found-suspect-identified/1094441152 —– It’s really sad how they are still treating this as if the guy “stole” the gun from the chief. She left a loaded handgun in a public bathroom. HER fault, not his.
“The San Luis Obispo Police Department has announced Thursday night that their Police Chief Deanna Cantrell’s stolen firearm has been found.” STOLEN? The guy didn’t steal squat! She left her gun in a bathroom and he found it and didn’t turn it in. Again…. shifting the blame! This is pathetic.
Taking property that doesn’t belong to you is theft. No one is ignoring that Cantrell is also responsible.
There you go again, PITMIX… all in defense of an irresponsible gun owner. If you’re not responsible enough to keep your firearm safe you’re not responsible enough to have a firearm.
SLO needs a new police chief; or Marat all Council Members who hired her. Hire a smart, responsible PC. Can you imagine reporting to her; taking orders from her?
Sadly, I doubt they’ll remove her. I’m sure there’s some PC considerations here too.
It’s funny how all the liberals somehow think it’s ok for a Police Chief to have this sort of “accident”.
LCP112233 – I’m a liberal and I’ve been one of the most vocal here advocating for her to be fired. Not all liberals are the same and this isn’t really a political issue, it’s a safety issue.
Stolen, my ass! more like returned the firearm to SLO PD’s lost and found.
Great police chief up there. I think someone needs a promotion and she should be demoted.
How can can you reward this and then they report it as stollen. What did they want the guy to do bring it to the front counter at pollo loco? everone would have had a hard attack !
Lost or stolen? Pick one.
If this guy Magdan had not picked up this gun and walked out we would have never learned about this terrible and negligent mistake. He did us a favor. Should he have turned it in? – yes – but to who? If he had taken it to the SLO Police this story would have been covered up. The police chief makes a “irresponsible and careless” mistake now everyone has to sit through training on hanging on to your gun. Typical government bureaucratic response. Lastly, Mangan was turned in by his brother in law. I can’t wait for Thanksgiving dinner .
I am in agreement with you. The young man that found the gun is my son. They have said stolen gun to the point it makes me sick. He did not take it from her so I don’t know wtf they are talking about when saying “the stolen gun.” He did not wish for a gun. And did nothing to get a gun. It is her fault for leaving it in the public bathroom. And they say now they may charge him for something. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. I would have done the same thing by removing the gun so that a child can’t play with it. My son has some mental issues and is not on facebook or does he have a phone. So he didn’t know whose gun it was and to whom to return it to. He did return it though. They should be thanking him, not slandering him.
He was not turned in by the brother in law. He got a ride to return it by brother in law. He did not want to keep the gun at all. He did return it to them once he learned who to return it to. That’s all he was trying to do, find the owner so he could get their gun back to them. NOT TURNED IN BY BROTHER IN LAW. I am his mom so I would know.
Lost. Not stolen. Anyhow she got her gun back and now they are maybe charging my son with whatever they can call this. I am so mad. She is the one to blame here, not my son Skeeter. He did not wake up in the am that day and think, wow I am going to steal a gun from the Chief of Police today. No, he just came upon the gun that was so carelessly left in the bathroom. I would have done the same as him… Remove it so that a child doesn’t find it and maybe kill themself. He had every intention of returning it to the owner once he found out who it belonged to. Not like he could have carried it to the counter. That would have made everyone in there kinda freak out.
Thank you for saying that. I am his mom, and I am glad he took it out of the restroom too. That next boy using the restroom next could have really hurt himself or even killed himself. Then what, would they want to charge my son for seeing it and not removing it out of the restroom. All the while it is really her fault it was in there. Very very sad world.
I am Skeeter’s mom. The guy that found the gun. And, no, I do not want to give her a break. Normally I would, but my son did not need to be put in that situation. My son did not take it from her, and did not want it. He just removed it for safety reasons. Now they are saying it was stolen and slandering him all over the place. I even saw the news with my son’s picture. They called him the suspect. I am so mad at all the slandering of my son. It is not fair as it was her fault. And this is what he gets for returning it. You’d think the police chief and the department would be happy and thank him
I agree with you. Most of us would take the gun so that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands or kill a kid. But, because she is chief of police this, I guess, gets treated differently. After the gun was returned the police chief should have been happy and thankful. Nope, no one is happy. My son, Skeeter, has been slandered all over the place, and they are calling the gun stolen. What kind of world do we live in? For returning something to owner we somehow receive a bunch of negativity. I have heard how the gun was stolen, that he is the suspect in the crime, that his brother in law turned him in, that his brother in law threatened him; and so many incorrect things about him in the comments that it is crazy. Some of you may think it’s a great thing to cause problems. I don’t think any of this is funny. Because, bottom line, it is her fault.
Yes, true
Maybe it is time to ask why police administrators need to carry guns 24/7? For that matter, off-duty cops? In much of the world, cops check their guns in at end of shift. Why should these folks have special rights that citizens do not? My point is that this police chief had no real need to be armed off-duty or in civilian garb, any more than any other citizen.
If he took the gun out of the restroom, it probably would have been smarter to take it straight to a police, sheriff’s, or even CHP office, and tell them where it was found. It sort of sounds as though the family involved only turned it in after learning of its loss. I wouldn’t have waited to find out it was a law enforcement officer’s gun to turn it in to any one of them. They would be able to determine who the owner was after receiving the gun. And/or if it had been stolen, used in a crime, etc. I do hope that the ‘finder’ doesn’t get in any trouble. After all, even though it wasn’t handled in probably the best way, at least the gun didn’t end up in a child’s hands… or harm anyone.
@Angel65: Only person who needs punishment is the one who left the gun in unsafe conditions. Yes, they should leave your son alone. Thank him. Maybe teach him what to do next time and let your life live on. If not, you may discuss this with a lawyer for free. If it were my child I would be protecting his rights asap! Sorry about Toxic Anna. Apparently she is a miserable person. Hope this ends happily for your son. Good Luck!
“He did not wish for a gun. And did nothing to get a gun.” He did nothing… except to find an unattended firearm that DID NOT BELONG TO HIM and take it home with him with no express motivation to return it…
Your son is an adult (not a “young man”) and he should know better. I’m sure this is embarrassing for your family, but instead of trying to deflect blame you should just apologize and move on. Asking us all to be grateful and thank him is an absolutely ridiculous level of delusion.
Did he leave information with the store about finding the gun? Seems a little fishy to me…
I would have not touched the gun I would have called 911 and stayed with it until the police came for it.
TAXIONNA – does it make you feel good to berate the mother of a child with possible mental issues? Just curious…
“Lost or stolen? Pick one.”
It can be both: taking possession of lost property is theft. However, if he can show that he took it with the intent of returning it to the owner, that’s not theft.
It’s normal to at least inform the store and leave contact info in case the owner returns — that’s what someone who has every intention of returning lost property to the owner does.
“What would YOU do if you found a loaded gun in a public restroom? ”
I would call the police, and I would leave the gun with the management. I would not walk off the premises with a loaded gun–that’s not rational.
Felony charges?? He returned the gun that the cop left in the bathroom! Not only this, but while they were searching for it, they illegally busted a couple people in an illegal search! SLO PD is a joke!