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Police dispute that Ray is a target

July 1, 2014
Caren Ray

Caren Ray

By KAREN VELIE

San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Caren Ray contends a pellet or BB shot through her window was done purposely by someone standing in her small private front yard, an allegation police say the evidence does not support.

“Someone shot through my window,” Ray says on Facebook. “Guess this is what the general election is going to be like. Whoa.”

After noting the difference in the height of the hole through her screen and the hole through the window, Ray determined a very tall person trespassed into her private yard and shot into her window.

“The scary part is that given the angle (shown by the screen), the person had to be at least 6′ tall standing in my secluded yard, or a small child standing on my porch,” Ray says on Facebook. “It really had to be the former.”

However, Arroyo Grande police said the BB or pellet shot through Ray’s window Sunday evening appears random and was most likely children from a nearby wooded area. There have been dozens of BB gun shootings reported during the past few months, police said.

“We do not believe this was politically motivated, we believe this was kids,” Arroyo Grande Police Sergeant Dan Langstaff said. “She lives in a place near a creek where kids congregate. We know kids run around with BB guns all the time. It appears random.”

In addition, several former law enforcement officers looked at the photo of the window Ray posted on Facebook and also do not agree with Ray’s conclusion. They said the hole is slightly oval and that the hole through the window is lower than the hole through the screen, suggesting a BB or pellet was most likely on its downward trajectory. They determined the shot was likely taken from 30 to 200 yards away depending on the gun used.

Caren Ray's Facebook picture of pellet or BB shot through window.

Caren Ray’s Facebook picture of the pellet or BB hole in her window.


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Downward trajectory indicate pellet was fired upward from a distance and arced into her window. No trespassing shooter. LEO’s are right.


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So my last comment was removed because I named the street Caren Ray lives on, It was stated she is in fear of people knowing where she lives. I just read her facebook comment, she is a piece of work that is for sure.


Since I can’t name the street I will say she does not have a secluded front yard. Her home is the only historical home among all these newer craftsmen style homes. Across the street is a creek that you cannot even see though all the trees. If kids were there shooting a BB gun they probably did not know their was a house close by because they possibly did not see it.


She is so scared, if she was upstairs or in the back of the house she would not have even heaard the pop of the glass. This screams political stunt and isn’t Bruce Gibson close to 6 foot, and her boy friend?


And she does not want people to know where she lives, it was stated in some newspaper where she lives, and you could go to county records, off the internet any number of places. Caren grow up and put your big girl panties on.


You throw enough stones as you campaigned and did your fair share of mud slinging, stop enough is enough. You are such an opportunist I put nothing below you.


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Some of your comments are fair, some are speculation and exaggeration and one is as bad as what you have accused her of doing (“isn’t Bruce Gibson close to 6 foot, and her boy friend?”)


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Remember Adam Hill and the disparaging voicemail he left, claiming he was Ed Waage, his opponent in that supervisor race. This has the same flavor. Caren, I’m surprised you still listen to Adam’s advice.


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I removed a post because it included Caren Ray’s street name. She has said she is fearful of people knowing where she lives. Because of her concerns, please do not put her street name in posts.


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Good call. Too close to violating Government Code section 6254.21. The info is public record, however.


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Kevin once again you show how much you dislike any one in Democratic party. you state “good call” and then in the next sentence state “it is public record”. You, like Caren Ray would never get my vote. I hate people who speak out of both sides of their mouth.And I really dislike someone in the political world who show such hatred for the other side like you do.


I can say I vote for the person not for a party. I wish we had more politicians who could for once forget which party they are beholden to and just do what is best for ALL their constituents. You are part of what is wrong in today’s politics.


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Shows how little you know. Many of my closest friends are in the Democratic party. If the county central committee put forth true good people–not the underhanded refuse they endorse–I’d support more of them. I, too, vote for the person, not the party. And I have written checks to a good number of Dems and voted for them as well. Again, shows how little you know. “Who is prone to conspiracy thinking?” as Adam Hill might put it.


As for the home address, it’s on every FPPC filling and numerous other records available at the county clerk offices. Voters need to know representatives actually live in the district. It’s not a good idea to post on the web because of the statute I cited. My stance is completely consistent and is not two-faced whatsoever.


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your talents are wasted in civil service kevin…..


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OMG. Drama Queen, party of one?


I will borrow a saying my mother would use, as a reality check, when I was wont to blow up an issue to biblical proportions.


“Put your feet together, darlin’, we only have one nail.”


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As a kid long before paintball guns, me and my friends would go to the woods and play army shooting each other with our Daisy Red Riders. This stopped after the rich kid got a pump pellet gun and caused serious damage. We also shot many windows because it was fun and we were idiots. This lady is a nut to think it’s a conspiracy.


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No kidding.


I don’t know what is worse…if Ray really is so paranoid she thinks someone is trying to get her with bb a gun because she is running for a political office? Or if she is so desperate to become an elected county supervisor that she would manufacture such a ridiculous claim?


Either way, it is a terrible reflection on Ray, and brings up many concerns about her fitness for office.


The whole thing is just so AdamHillish, and the absolute last thing we need is another Adam Hill on the BOD.


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Yeah, I agree and it’s a bit worrisome that she could be one of our “leaders”. Talk about an over inflated self importance.Get a grip lady.


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I never heard that one before. Thanks, I am going to steal it for my own use.


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I will choose her over Compton Barbie any day.


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“The scary part is that given the angle (shown by the screen), the person had to be at least 6′ tall standing in my secluded yard, or a small child standing on my porch,” Ray says on Facebook…


Or, an average height female standing indoors.


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Really Kevin?. You think she shot her own window with a bb gun from the inside. You realize that the entrance/exit hole would show that. You’ll probably now say she was smart enough to know that but did it herself at least standing outside.


Who knows what happened. Most likely was kids playing. Could have been intentional. Unlikely. Honestly her comment is a bit over the top, but I don’t know how much insight it gives voters.


The BB hole obviously rattled her and I can understand that. There are a lot of crazy ass people out there that will do crazy ass things.


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Glad you enjoyed my parody. However, one thing: I definitely won’t say she’s smart enough.


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Smart enough to have held down a better job than you.


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First, that’s highly debatable. Second, “Held down” doesn’t well describe her ousting in November, whereupon she resumes screwing up high school minds.


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It was not at all clear that your previous comment was a parody. (Look up “Poe’s Law.”) I gave you a “thumbs down” thinking that your comment was as much a political manipulation as most posters here think that her comment was.


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Sic erat scriptum (“Thus was it written”). It elicits snap responses where biases perhaps preclude deeper contemplation. Good job recognizing the ambiguity.


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How tall are you, Kevin?


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Identify yourself if you want the standing to ask questions.


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Kevin can dish it out but he sure can’t take it eh


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And I dish it out using my actual name. Why not you? Can’t take it?


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In case you haven’t figured it out yet Kevin, the reason many people post anonymously is that they society has become so polarized that comments may offend people in a position to make life very difficult for those speaking.

Whether they be bosses of employees, customers of business owners or even officials with regulatory authority of some sort over an individual, some people with strong opinions can do serious financial (and sometimes other) damage to those with whom they disagree.


I do respect that you use your name openly but it is not unreasonable for others to not do so. You’re apparently in a position where those disagreeing with your views can’t do much damage except by counter-argument.


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Anonymity is used to shield oneself from your own words (CCF, are you reading this?). Sometimes it’s for a legitimate purpose. Other times it’s to make attacks (CCF). Would you allow yourself to be interrogated by an anonymous phone caller? Neither would I.


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Kevin would need to get out his soap box to get to 6′. Just say’n.


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So Kevin, can you tell how tall your soap box is? Then we can do the math…


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Also highly debatable.


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Are you insinuating that this group is math impaired? Debate seems to be your “Thang” Kev.


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Ten bucks says this is a self inflicted window wound. Its a clever but desparate attempt at publicity and a not so subtle accusation. This so smells of an Adam Hill dirty trick I am surprised no one else noticed. I am its a BB gun so not the discharge of a firearm, so when Adam and crew get caught they can claim it was just a little prank. Isnt that how Hill answered when he got caught calling folks on the phone pretending he was his opponent……This is BS aimed at discrediting Ms Compton.


Its the same as that guy Richard Tuck who ran against Nixon in 1948 congressional race. He had posters made up and plastered all over his town saying F*&K TUCK and blamed it on Nixon. Unfortunately it didn’t work and we ended up with Dick in the Whitehouse. Lets not let that happen again


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Bingo on the Adam-Hill nincompoopish flavor of Caren Ray’s claims. The only card Hill has in his not-so-full deck is the Paranoid Victim card.


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I am not yet willing to link Ray that tightly with Adam Hill or Bruce Gibson. Yes, she shares many of their general political positions and that is why they lobbied her into her current position. But I will need more than one example of possible political propaganda based on paranoia before I put her in the same ethical sewer as those two.


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I don’t know how closely she is linked to any of the other BOS members.


However, it does appear that her tactics are similar to Adam HIll’ s. It is her tactics and problems with ethics that I take issue with.


We can only hope HIll and Ray don’t hook up in the biblical sense. Just look at the world of problems we have had to deal with from HIll’ s hooking up with his last blond.


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How exactly does a window wound itself?


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I gotta say, just on the basis of her accusation, she lost my vote.


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Gotta say, Extreme…don’t think she ever really had your vote, nor do I think she would ever really want it.


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It sounds scary no matter where it came from and Caren has been the subject of a lot of anger from the opposition.


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Oh please, I have found BB’s stuck in my fence, tree trunks, etc. When you live near nature (creek beds, green belt, etc.) kids, especially during the summer will be kids.


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Not to give another “been there done that” story, but WHO doesn’t train their kids on safety with firearms and, well, PNEUMOarms training with BB guns? As kids we were given basic training about “putting an eye out” and turned loose in the stubble fields of NoCo El Pomar area, then OBSERVED and retrained when we made an error in judgment or safety concerns. None of us ever “put an eye out” and probably never shot out anybody’s window. Kids shouldn’t be “kids” if it involves BB damage.


What I’m saying is if a kid trained as we were happened into Caren’s creek area, nobody would be discharging even an air BB gun where it could hit a window.


No, we weren’t boring angels, though. We blew up lots of stuff with Red Dot shotgun powder purloined from dad’s reloader bench. So I guess Dad’s training didn’t completely prevent us kids from mischief. But it was mostly chevy dragster models bought with our own earned money, when we blew up car models with the powder, blew up that and any small container that would contain the blast front long enough to really make that smokeless powder go BOOM.


Young future chemists and blasting engineers, in training.


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In the place (& at the time) I grew up, most boys and many girls both owned and used actual hunting rifles by the time they were in high school. There were rifles in gun racks of unlocked pickups in the school parking lot for ranch kids to pick off coyotes on the way to/from school. Guns were regarded (properly) as tools that required knowledge and care to use safely and gun safety was taught in much the same manner as you describe. The only gun incident I heard about involved one of my classmates nicking his brother’s skull with a shotgun pellet when he tripped while pheasant hunting. He received a lot of ridicule for his carelessness despite the fact that he was one of the toughest kids in the school.


While you are correct about the way things were, you are wrong in assuming that they have stayed the same. Modern parents are much more likely to train their kids well about careful driving — and they should as it has always been the biggest danger to their kids.


However, given society’s current restrictions on gun use (official and unofficial), far fewer kids are even given BB guns these days and far fewer parents are aware of what constitutes “gun safety” to say nothing of the importance of teaching it.


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I would agree, except in places like Texas where kids grow up with guns and many, many people have Conceal Carry Permits. It concerns me that the AG Police don’t seem more troubled about kids in that creek shooting of guns especially since they’ve had so many reports about it. Someone WILL eventually get hurt. Parents should not be giving their kids BB guns as toys to play with!


In Texas kids are taught to respect guns of all types, take care of them and not “play” with them. They are NOT an attractive nuisance for kids like they are here in CA. I know kids down there that are actually bored with guns. They find it boring to go to the rifle range and shoot.


It’s our way of life here in CA…the aspect of the forbidden fruit that causes kids to want to bring out their guns or even their parents guns when no adult is looking.


Back off on Caren or walk the miles that she has walked in this campaign in her shoes. You are heaping dirt on her, but have no idea what ugliness she has had to live through coming from the other side. She has not whined about it and won’t, but she had a right to be frightened. Glad you are all so brave and ready to throw the first stone. Hope you are all sane enough to keep it to just stones.


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I am going to take the high road here and not make assumptions about Ray’s motivation for “going public” with her speculations about the reasons that her window was hit. She made the speculation on a social media site (Facebook) and may have forgot that everyone and their siblings will be paying attention to what she has to say there. If so, this should be a lesson to her about the importance of self-censorship on the internet.


However, the “reasoning” that led her to her conclusion makes me suspicious of her understanding of basic physics and inclined to question her ability to make rational judgments on issues where basic science is involved. I certainly don’t want her in a position to affect the debate on gun control as there are enough ignorant politicians weighing in on that subject already. County Supervisor should be her political limit using the Peter Principle.


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Pismo, it is apparent that neither you nor many on this board “see no anger” or reason for anyone to want to do harm to Ms. Ray. That may be because you are not close enough to either of the campaigns or you’re just not paying attention. However, to belittle Caren’s concerns based on YOUR lack of knowledge to me shows an agenda on your part. I would say that everyone on this board that has chosen to throw stones at Ms. Ray has their agenda and that would be the election of Mrs. Compton. If you think that that is not obvious then you must think you are posting to blind people.


You stated that Ms. Ray does not know that she is “living next to a teen hangout by a creek [where] you might have kids shooting at birds.” I’ve read that Ms. Ray has not lived in that location very long. She may be just finding that out. On the other hand she does know for a fact that the other side has played a malevolent game so far in this campaign and I would imagine that she is beginning to expect more of the same. I think we all know that there are people out there that are capable of doing harm to others when their passions get the best of them.


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That’s quite a pity party you’re throwing for Caren Ray. The paranoia trimmings are especially festive.


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Fisherman: I think the large number of thumbs down here represent the hate and anger that goes out towards Caren…or maybe it’s just fear that she might win. She after all is obviously the more intelligent of the two and if you are going on what she has done for the community Caren wins hands down!


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