Supervisor’s Assistant Faces Perjury Charge

It’s been a long and interesting road for Gil Armijo – staff assistant to the County of Santa Barbara’s 5th District Supervisor Joe Centeno and a potential future candidate for supervisor – since being arrested for driving under the influence in Carpinteria back in December 2007. Though where this road ends is still unclear, Armijo is now facing a more serious felony charge of perjury, and believes he is being targeted by the authorities due to his political position and certain accusations he’s made over the years.

Armijo claims he didn’t drive his car to the location where he was arrested along Carpinteria Avenue early in the morning of December 22, 2007. But on October 31, 2008, he pleaded no contest anyway, and was sentenced by Judge Brian Hill to three days in jail, a fine, and community service. Thanks to time-served, he didn’t have to go to jail, and because he’d worked 180 hours of community service, he didn’t have to pay the fine. That would normally end a case of this type, but because Armijo allegedly lied under oath during a Department of Motor Vehicles hearing, his troubles have only mounted.

Armijo, who’s been representing himself in court all along, says his mistreatment started with the DUI. Armijo told the arresting deputy he had two beers and a glass of champagne several hours earlier, and was on his way from Santa Maria to Pasadena. A female friend drove him to that point, and left to stay at a friend’s house. Armijo said he decided to sleep in the car for a few hours, and was behind his vehicle preparing a sleeping bag when the deputy arrived. “I wasn’t driving and I wasn’t drunk,” Armijo said in a recent interview.