San Luis Obispo County’s top stories in 2024: Fraud, bribes, arrests

January 1, 2025

By CalCoastNews staff

To say 2024 was an eventful year in San Luis Obispo County would be an understatement. The top stories of 2024 include a civil fraud judgement against attorney John Belsher, Ryan Petetit-Wright’s prison sentence and the questionable death of a teen in a county facility – all of which CalCoastNews’ investigations exposed.

Corrupt developer sentenced to five years in prison

San Luis Obispo County developer Ryan Petetit-Wright is slated to spend five years in federal prison after he admitted to paying bribes to former San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Adam Hill in exchange for votes and other official acts in support of his and attorney John Belsher’s development projects.

Beginning in 2015, CalCoastNews wrote a series of exclusive articles detailing this corruption scheme, which prompted Tribune reporters to repeatedly write inaccurate stories in support of Hill, Belsher and Petetit-Wright.

San Luis Obispo attorney ordered to pay $3.6 million judgement for fraud

San Luis Obispo attorney John Belsher lived the high life while he bilked his clients out of millions of dollars. The court ordered Belsher and his partner Ryan Wright-Petetit to pay a more than $3.6 million proposed judgement for their fraudulent conduct.

Since losing the court battle, Belsher appears to be attempting to avoid paying the judgement, even going by Jon Bailey, an alias.

Teen dies in SLO County facility, cold before anyone noticed

A Paso Robles teen died at a SLO County crisis stabilization unit though it would be eight to 10 hours before anyone noticed.

After complaining for months about mismanagement at the facility, the teen’s death prompted four employees to hand in their notices and contact a CalCoastNews reporter.

CalCoastNews’ exclusive reporting revealed the facility’s failures. The teen’s mother later filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against SLO County, Sierra Mental Wellness Group and eight of the group’s employees.

“Not only did the defendants fail to monitor and check on patients for signs of medical distress, they lied about their welfare checks and falsified Branco’s medical record, a violation of California Penal Code 471.5,” according to the lawsuit. “Defendants’ failure was a serious dereliction of their duties and the one responsibility they had toward their client: to monitor for signs of distress.”

Morro Bay restaurateur arrested for child pornography, assault weapons

The owner of Giovanni’s Fish Market in Morro Bay was arrested for six felony charges, including possession of child pornography and assault weapons. If convicted on all charges, Giovanni DeGarimore faces up to 18 years in prison.

The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office plans to bring in evidence of the defendant’s past sexual misconduct. DeGarimore’s criminal history includes charges for willful cruelty to a child, terrorist threats, false imprisonment, drunk driving and three counts of battery.

Pre-preliminary hearings are scheduled for Feb. 4 and Feb. 6.

Mold, flooding, defects plague new homes in San Luis Obispo, lawsuit filed

Owners in a community of new homes with alleged structural defects, including leaking windows, black mold, doors that don’t shut properly, huge holes in walls and flooding issues, signed up to participate in a multi-plaintiff lawsuit against the builder of the San Luis Ranch neighborhood.

The picturesque homes sit a few feet from neighbors with walking trails winding behind. Despite the appearance, many of the homes have serious structural defects. Several new homeowners say issues with mold and rodents have created health hazards, issues they claim Coastal Community Builders and the City of San Luis Obispo appear to be ignoring.

The question is not how did the homes pass inspections, but were the homes inspected? With multiple lawsuits winding through the system, this issue is far from over.

A manager at Giuseppe’s in Pismo Beach allegedly killed the restaurant’s bartender

An employee at Giuseppe’s in Pismo Beach allegedly killed the restaurant’s bartender at a nearby home, fled the scene, cut his throat and jumped off a pier.

Andrew Rodriguez and Jonathan Perez were close friends who worked together at Giuseppe’s in Pismo Beach – Rodriguez as a supervisor and Perez as a bartender. The friends were at Perez’s home near the restaurant when Rodriguez allegedly stabbed Perez, who died at the scene.

Perez pleaded not guilty. A pre-preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 6.

Paso Robles City Council dumps paid parking

The Paso Robles City Council dumped the controversial paid parking program after rejecting a referendum to repeal the parking ordinance because of errors in the petition. It was clear, however, that the bulk of the community opposed the paid parking program that City Manager Ty Lewis and Mayor John Hamon championed.

Paso Robles City Manager Ty Lewis files more than $2 million claim against the city

Paso Robles City Manager Ty Lewis filed a claim against the city seeking $2,275,000 for loss of employment and personal injury based on alleged actions of Councilman Chris Bausch, a CalCoastNews reporter and a host of others.

In his claim, Lewis included a lengthy list of instances of Bausch’s bullying, defamation and harassment. Many included references to statements made on local radio shows. However, audio recordings of the shows do not support his allegations.

The city denied Lewis’ claim on Sept. 26. Lewis has until March 16 to file a lawsuit against the City of Paso Robles over his claims of bullying and harassment.

SLO County Supervisor Adam Hill’s widow recounts his hunger for money, women

Philanderer, corrupt politician, bully, and drug addict are just a few terms critics have used to describe the late San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Adam Hill. But where did he come from and who helped propel him to the top of the county’s political hierarchy?

Court documents released in 2024 provide incites into his life, supporters and his death.

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