Edhat Staff
Video surveillance footage of Los Osos man who found SLO Police Chief’s gun (Photo: SLO Police)
By edhat staff
San Luis Obispo District Attorney (DA) announced no charges will be filed against the man who found SLO Police Chief’s gun in a public bathroom.
Skeeter Carlos Mangan, 30 of Los Osos, was identified in surveillance footage as the suspect who took Chief Deanna Cantrell’s .380 firearm that was accidentally left in the bathroom of El Pollo Loco on July 10, 2019.
“While the evidence in this case does support a misdemeanor charge of Penal Code section 485, after thoroughly considering all the circumstances, I have concluded that it would not be in the interest of justice to charge Mr. Mangan with a crime,” District Attorney Dan Dow announced Saturday.
“It is my sincere hope that Mr. Mangan and other members of our community have learned from this widely publicized situation that failure to take immediate steps to find the rightful owner of lost property is a crime of theft under California law,” said Dow.
Under California Penal Code section 485, failure to return lost property is a crime of theft. The statute reads as follows, “[o]ne who finds lost property under circumstances which give him knowledge of or means of inquiry as to the true owner, and who appropriates such property to his own use, or to the use of another person not entitled thereto, without first making reasonable and just efforts to find the owner and to restore the property to him, is guilty of theft.”
Chief Cantrell issued an apology in a public video and has faced heavy criticism from the event. She was disciplined by the San Luis Obispo Police Department with a one-time $1,598 dock of pay equivalent to a two-day unpaid suspension and required gun safety training.
Dow went on to thank Sean Greenwood who recognized Mangan on social media posts as his brother-in-law and contacted police.
In a statement to KSBY-TV , Greenwood wrote after seeing the alert he immediately went to Mangan’s house, located the firearm and unloaded and disassembled it. He also stated that he needed to explain the situation to Mangan as he has a mental disability.
“To understand [Mangan’s] actions, you have to understand [Mangan’s] mental health state… He is an extremely shy and quiet man and for him, verbalizing is difficult. Because [he], for the most part, is nonverbal, speaking with friends and family, holding a job and expressing his thoughts is an everyday struggle. He doesn’t have a cell phone or computer, nor does he have social media. Once he learned from me, the true owner of the firearm, he told me he wanted to bring it into the “cop shop”… I explained to him it would be better if I gave him a ride and helped him to explain to the detectives the situation, rather than him riding his mode of transportation, a scooter,” wrote Greenwood to KSBY.
Related Articles
- July 12, 2019: SLO Police Chief Leaves Firearm in Bathroom
Skeeter rides a scooter?
Right decision. The man who found the gun at least got to it before some young kid used the restroom and found/took it. Could have had deadly consequences.
Flicka, the story contains the repercussions toward the chief. Can you imagine how absurd it is for a head of a police department to have to take a gun safety class?
That police chief should face much more harsh punishment for this stupid move. The police NEVER pay the proper punishments when they commit a crime.
My comment above should have been directed to 9:45 a.m. comment. My apologies to Flicka.
RHS-I am well aware of the Police Chiefs discipline. Or lack there of. It is extremely absurd that any police chief has to take a gun safety class. Shows a complete lack of ability to be in the lead position that she holds.
So Skeeter gets away with it! Thank heavens. I’m more than appalled that the figures “$1,598 dock of pay equivalent to a two-day unpaid suspension” means this incompetent Chief makes $100 an hour.
Who is “Dow?” Is that “Down?” If so, it’s good to see the DA knew better than to prosecute a mentally challenged person who didn’t know he was doing anything wrong and certainly not guilty of all the felony charges the lazy cops wanted to charge him with! SHAME on Chief Cantrell. It’s a miracle (for her) that she still has a job.
LUCKY777. We all make mistakes. Let’s hope none of us ever has to deal with making such a boner, though.
GENERALTREE. I always pocket money when I find it on the ground/sidewalk. Pennies I put in my shoe for luck. Over the years I have found $220 (in a box where the owner wasn’t known), $40 (wallet on the street), $100 (wallet on the beach). When the money is in a wallet I keep the cash and put the wallet in the mail box. No-one ever returned to me the $100 bill I dropped on the MTD bus (although I am pretty darn sure someone saw me drop it) and no-one ever returned my stolen bicycle or my lost silver bracelet to me. I figure it all evens out. It’s silly when people find $10,000, turn it in and then are rewarded with pats on the back and $100. If someone found my $10,000 and got it back to me, I’d feel guilty sharing less than 1/2.
Fudge this gun culture! If an experienced police officer can’t be responsible with a weapon, what does that say about the rest of the gun-obsessed population? I have to assume it was loaded.
RTO – of course it was, and excellent point!