Morro Bay restaurateur headed to trial for child porn, weapons charges
April 3, 2026
Giovanni DeGarimore
By KAREN VELIE
A San Luis Obispo County judge ruled Thursday that the child pornography and weapons case against the owner of Giovanni’s Fish Market in Morro Bay will go to trial.
Giovanni DeGarimore is charged with five felony charges, including possession of child pornography and possession of assault weapons. SLO County Superior Court Judge Rita Federman reduced a previous felony concealed carry charge to a misdemeanor on Thursday.
DeGarimore’s arraignment is scheduled for April 21. If convicted on all charges, Giovanni DeGarimore faces up to 18 years in prison.
After discovering child pornography on his computer, DeGarimore’s former girlfriend Amy Colbert took photos of his computer screen and drove the evidence to the Atascadero Police Department, according to court records.
Colbert told investigators she first found what appeared to be child pornography on DeGarimore’s phone while they were on a dive trip in the Channel Islands in Oct. 2022. While they were both intoxicated, Colbert was flipping through photos of their trip on DeGarimore’s phone when she found a provocative photo of a young girl.
In his defense, DeGarimore claimed a male friend of his sister had played a prank on him, and Colbert let it go.
Less than a year later, while looking through DeGarimore’s computer on July 7, 2023, Colbert found two photos of apparent child pornography. In one of the photos, the girl appeared to be about 8 years old.
On Nov. 14, 2023, officers served search warrants on DeGarimore’s primary residence on San Marcos Road in Atascadero, his car and his residences in Cambria and Bradley where they seized five firearms and multiple electronic devices. Investigators also discovered three photos showing minors engaging in sexual conduct, according to a police report.
A review of DeGarimore’s search history revealed more than a dozen times he searched for sexual content. Specifically, he searched for crying rough teen sex, teen first creampie, female genital mutilation photos, guy fucks sleeping girl, jailbait forum and tween girls.
Officers arrested DeGarimore on Nov. 14, 2023. After DeGarimore posted a $200,000 bail, deputies released him from jail.
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