Edhat Staff
Two men who stole and burned LGBTQ+ pride flags while sharing it on social media in Santa Ynez on 2022 have been sentenced to a year-long diversion program.
Avi Stone Williams, 19, and Joshua Jerome Eligino, 20, were each charged with two misdemeanor counts of petty theft and one misdemeanor count of a violation of Civil Rights last year.
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 previously 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.
Williams and Eligino will need to complete 80 hours of community service with a LGBTQ-focused nonprofit and anti-bias education through the Museum of Tolerance. They are also required to write letters of apology to St. Mark’s in the Valley Episcopal Church, reports Tyler Hayden at the Santa Barbara Independent.
In a Facebook post, local nonprofit Santa Ynez Valley Pride stated the result feels like a small step towards justice. The group had been in contact with the District Attorney’s Office offering perspective and guidance on what justice would look like.
Below is their full statement that was read during court proceedings:
“On behalf of Santa Ynez Valley Pride, we would like to thank you for allowing us to share this community impact statement today. Our mission is to create a safe, supportive, and empowering home for the LGBTQ+ community in the Santa Ynez Valley. The hateful acts of these two individuals sought to undermine this very mission. They sought to make queer and trans folks, as well as our allies, feel unsafe, unsupported, and disempowered in their very own community. While it made us feel a wide range of emotions- from frustration to fear, from anger to grief- it did not steal our joy, our hope, or our sense of community.
At SYV Pride, we believe in accountability, justice, education, and repair, and hope that the sentencing will reflect a layered approach of these values. We believe that hate is taught and that it is up to each of us to dismantle systems that seek to ‘other’ people different than ourselves, that weaponizes religion in order to judge and condemn others, and that attempts to build walls instead of bridges.
Our priorities remain steadfast in regards to this situation and those like them, which are the safety of LGBTQ+ residents in the Santa Ynez Valley and the access to education which seeks to dismantle systems of hate, bigotry, and discrimination. We will continue to advocate for a safe, supportive, and empowering home for the local queer and trans community in the Santa Ynez Valley—a place all residents deserve to feel proud to call home.”
Related Articles
August 1, 2022: Sheriff’s Deputies Investigated Thefts and Burning of Pride Flags
March 23, 2023: Two Santa Ynez Valley Men Charged with Stealing and Burning Pride Flags
A very classy response. These young men made a horrible mistake and while they do deserve punishment, leaning towards education to help them gain knowledge and understanding will benefit our society at large.
Lock em up, right? If we want to imprison all those shoplifters, better cuff these two as well, right?
Seriously though, this seems like a good sentence. Forcing them to at least try to learn empathy for those born differently than them. Sad that we even need programs like this, but thanks for religious misinterpretation, fake news from fraudulent leaders, and general poor education and ignorance from generations of bigotry, we apparently need to force people to think of others.
Chalf won’t like this.
That was great! Thanks for making my day….LOL