Petrilla Releases Statement About 2001 Arrest

Editor's note: Jesse Petrilla, city councilman for Rancho Santa Margarita and candidate for State Assembly in the 73rd district, released a statement to selected individuals Tuesday in response to an article posted in Patch about his arrest and conviction in 2001 for two counts of assault with a firearm. Patch independently obtained documents from Placer County Superior Court to support the story. Petrilla's statement is unedited.  

Statement from Jesse Petrilla

This week, my wife and I are welcoming the birth of our son. While this is cause for great joy, I now need to address an incident that has been posted on the Internet.

On the night of March 11, 2001 (at the age of seventeen), I was amongst a small group of my friends in a remote area just outside of the city limits in Auburn, California, (where I grew up), when we were confronted by many carloads of known older drug addicts and local criminals who clearly intended us physical harm. I fired a couple warning shots from a friend’s father’s .22 rifle in an attempt to stop their advances. It worked, and no harm was done as the attackers returned to their vehicles and fled.

I was arrested the next morning and charged with multiple counts, each and every one of which was ultimately dismissed. Each and every one of them.

As you may know, I then went on to join the Army National Guard as an officer and have received a Secret Security Clearance. Each requiring in-depth background checks.

Reports from local bloggers last night have told a misleading version of events fed to them by my political opponents' political opposition researcher, clearly afraid of the momentum of my campaign. For fourteen opening paragraphs, one blogger offered cherry-picked pieces of salacious-sounding evidence before ultimately noting that in fact, all charges were dismissed.

Former Senator John Lewis, who represented Orange County for twenty years in the legislature, also commented on this matter by saying "Jesse Petrilla is a honorable young man who has served his country with distinction with his service in Afghanistan. It is a shame that some political opponent is twisting the truth of an incident that happened years ago for political advantage."

These desperate attacks will not deter me one bit from continuing my campaign, or the momentum it has been gaining. And I know that as voters explore my record, what they will find is: a military officer, a small business owner, a husband, and expecting parent.