Suspects plead not guilty to burning pride flags

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The two men charged with the theft and burning of two pride flags last summer in the Santa Ynez Valley have pleaded not guilty to the three misdemeanor charges filed against them, prosecutors said.

Avi Stone Williams, 19, and Joshua Jerome Eligino, 20, are charged with two misdemeanor counts of petty theft and one misdemeanor count of a violation of civil rights.

They entered their not guilty pleas at their arraignment Wednesday at Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria.

“There will not be a preliminary hearing as this is not a felony case,” Supervising Deputy District Attorney Steven Li said. “The next court date is May 15 in Santa Maria.”

A progress pride flag was stolen from an unidentified family between July 18 and July 20, prosecutors said in their complaint. A second pride flag was stolen from St. Mark’s-in-theValley Episcopal Church in Los Olivos between July 27 and July 28.

By TOM JOYCE THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

Prosecutors allege Mr. Williams and Mr. Eligino destroyed the flags between July 18 and July 27 “for the purpose of intimidating and interfering with the free exercise and enjoyment of right and privilege secured by the Constitution and laws of California … because of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender, and sexual orientation and because the defendant perceived that the victim had such characteristics.” email: nhartsteinnewspress@ gmail.com

In accordance with the Victims’ Bill of Rights, the District Attorney’s Office met with the victims and members of the community and received input on how they were impacted by these events.