Gil Armijo, executive staff assistant to Santa Barbara County Supervisor Joe Centeno (5th District), is planning to resign from his position in response to a legal stand-off with the District Attorney’s office.
In an e-mail to the Sun, Armijo said he has been “diagnosed with a disabling medical condition” stemming from “extensive legal harassment” related to felony perjury charges associated with a DUI case.
Armijo was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in December 2007, and eventually reached a no-contest plea bargain with the Santa Barbara County Superior Court. County prosecutors later charged him with perjury for stating at a Department of Motor Vehicles hearing that he wasn’t behind the wheel during the incident.
In the e-mail to the Sun, Armijo claimed he was “safely parked near the Carpinteria bluffs” at the time of the arrest.
Armijo added: “The medical condition I am suffering is directly caused by the extensive legal harassment by the District Attorney of a petty issue that has already been resolved by the DMV and by the Superior Court because of their unrelenting personal vendetta against me.”
Armijo’s resignation is expected to go into effect July 31—the same day he’s scheduled to appear in court in response to the felony charges.
This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 6, 2009.
