Prominent SLO County developer arrested on assault charges

November 28, 2015
Ryan Petetit

Ryan Petetit

By KAREN VELIE

Arroyo Grande police arrested a prominent local developer on Thanksgiving day in connection with an assault that allegedly caused serious bodily injury to a girlfriend, they said.

Ryan Petetit, 28, is a principal in PB Companies, a real estate investment and development firm currently under fire for not paying subcontractors and for operating without the proper permits. In the past few years, Petetit and his partner John Belsher, 61, have been in court over multiple financial controversies including breach of contract and not paying fines for building violations.

On Nov. 22, a physician at a hospital called police to report a patient with injuries consistent with domestic violence. Officers spoke with the patient who identified Petetit as her assailant, but were unable to arrest Petetit until Thanksgiving, police said.

On Nov. 26, officers arrested Petetit on charges of felony false imprisonment, felony battery with serious bodily injury, felony domestic violence and a misdemeanor charge of disabling a wireless device. A bails bondsmen was waiting at the jail to post Petetit’s bond when the officers brought him in, police said.

Petetit quickly posted $50,000 bail and was released from custody. Officers then contacted a judge who signed an emergency protective order to help safeguard the woman from further abuse.

Since PB Companies was founded in 2012, prosecutors have charged Petetit with five misdemeanors. One of the misdemeanors also dealt with abuse of a domestic partner.

In 2013, Petetit was arrested on a corporal injury on a spouse charge. A court granted his alleged victim a protective order that expires in 2016, according to court records.

PB Companies is involved in more than a dozen development projects, several of which San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Adam Hill has actively promoted. Hill, who is tied to PB Companies through San Luis Consulting, has lobbied the city of San Luis Obispo to approve land use changes PB Companies has requested.

PB Companies is currently moving forward on several large commercial, mixed-use and residential projects including two subdivisions in Templeton, a mixed-use project at the corner of Marsh and Nipomo streets in San Luis Obispo and an assisted-living facility in Arroyo Grande.

Belsher and Petetit have secured money from banks, hard-money lenders and private investors to purchase properties and pay for construction, according to county records. In some cases, investors have been promised rates of return between 20 to 50 percent, according to an email from Petetit to a potential investor.

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As the world turns in the life of Ryan Petetit one has to wonder how many times can this miscreant get charged with criminal offenses from: DUI, assault and battery, check fraud, drunk in public and the latest three felonies and a misdemeanor associated with the violent beating of his current partner and get let off with a slap on the hand because he is Adam Hill’s boss / friend / lobbyist. This is what SLO Courts did with Scott Peterson during his years at Cal Poly and after because he was so representative of Cal Poly and SLOTown according to Court transcripts. In fact, this is the same rational being used to protect Ryan Petetit. One can easily speculate that in another 4 or 5 years we will be hearing about him on national news for some heinous crime.


Boy toy of prominent lawyer beats the sh#t out of girls and local politicians continue to bail him out . He has a history of this folks – we have another OJ here in SLO town .


he is aaron ochs personal fling! adam shill likes to eat popcorn and record to spice up his home sex life! sigh.


It is up to each one of us, individually, to determine how deep into the “game” we want to get. In the end, we are all leaving behind all the crap that we worked so hard for anyway. When that frenetically engaged in the game—it is only a matter of time before the pressure gets so bad that you start lashing out at others. I have never lived to work; I only work to live. And that includes lots of time to have my toes in the sand. People on their death beds very rarely complain that they didn’t work enough….but that they didn’t pay attention to the “real” things in life. This article is a “good bad example”.


This is Adam Hill’s business partner?


For sure. for sure. You wouldn’t or shouldn’t expect better from the most outstanding,

people-friendly, superior supervisor (Hill’s own words!).


Which will come first – Jesus Christ will come down from heaven to save us all – or

the voters of District 3 will have the guts to remove Hill from office.


My money is with JC.


Sooner or later you’ve got to look in the mirror.

This is a buyer beware business.


John Ashbaugh is senile. Ashbaugh and Christianson just do what their donors want. Same with Adam Hill. Jesse Unruh said “Money is the mother’s milk if politics” way back in the 60s. Nothing has changed since then. The Tribune benefits from real estate projects through its advertising and real estate inserts. Follow the money.


Are there many folks in SLO who aren’t dirtbags? I mean every week you’ve got some prominent politician or business guy in the news.. The town really isn’t big, so what’s the deal?


This is one of the most corrupt counties in the nation, at every level of government.


Read the comments section of any news site in any county in the state and you’ll find the same comment about that county.


Some people go their whole lives without being arrested, Ryan. They’re called good citizens. You are in the other group…. the shitheads. What happened, she wouldn’t put in a mustache and let you call her Stanley?


I don’t think law abiding citizens are outnumbered by the law breakers just yet, but there are times when it sure seems like the scales have tipped that way.


1 out 3 people has been arrested. We live in a police state now. The incarceration rate in the USA is far higher than even authoritarian states like Russia and China.


This is not to excuse Peteit’s behavior, which is beyond the pale of some dumb decision like a drunk in public. But many law abiding citizens have been arrested and have a criminal record.


I guess I am part of the 66.6%, not the 33.3%, never been arrested and do not have a criminal record, which group are you in?


Who are these abusers, litterers, absentee parents and no good doers?

Ryan, Ryan, Ryan. Your Daddy was a cop. Did you not learn from him?


Maybe that lust for the gab and money is finally catching up with you.


Kudos to AGPD for arresting him and not turning their shoulder to a “prominent” developer. Ha!


His Daddy “WAS” a cop. He is no longer with the Pismo Beach Police Dept because he was taking money out of the evidence room to pay his bills (I believe it was dental work at the time). So one could say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. However he too was once a good cop, and one time good friend. I’d leave his Dad out of the picture since he is anyway. His mother, however, is another story in itself, and she is truly the downfall of both Ryan Petetit and his father Robert. There is no excuse or justification for Ryan’s actions across the board. Saddens me as I knew him as a very intelligent, curious and imaginative youth. Doesn’t surprise me, though, and there are other siblings of his I’d be concerned with as well. Too bad no one was looking out for him when he truly needed it growing up. I am willing to bleed on that belief, which is based on years of personal contact with the family. I also estranged myself from them when I finally figured out I was dealing with “unfit” people. With a heavy heart, there was and is probably no other path for Ryan unless he gets divine intervention. Frightening to watch the light go out of a child’s eyes and his innocence gone in a moment. He’s a very angry person with a huge chip on his shoulder . He’s a done deal. Nail him and as far as any associations with others please don’t be quick to judge as people with similar pathologies as Ryan are highly intelligent people and excel at manipulation that is so subtle even those trained to see those traits can miss them.