Ventura County Sheriff – – Incident Press Release
In June 2020, an incident at the Sandbox Coffee House in Ventura occurred between an employee and customer regarding the wearing of face masks to protect against COVID-19. The incident went viral for a short time and sparked debate on various social media platforms. Gina Bacon made several opinion related comments and posts about the incident on her social media accounts. Gina Bacon and Sandbox Coffee House had no affiliation with each other.
In July 2020, as a result of the Sandbox Coffee House incident, a series of racial comments were posted on social media under the name Gina Bacon and a non-profit organization she is affiliated with. The racial posts went viral which caused Sandbox Coffee House, Gina Bacon, and the non- profit organization to be targeted by various social media users and groups. Gina Bacon did not make these racial statements or posts on her social media accounts. Fearing her social media accounts had been hacked, she deleted the accounts. Ventura County Sheriff’s Office detectives began an investigation into the racial posts.
Through numerous interviews and search warrants, investigators learned the posts were made from fictitious accounts which led social media users to believe the posts originated from Gina Bacon and the non-profit organization. Investigators identified Edgar Castrejon as the person who impersonated Gina Bacon and the non-profit organization and who posted the racial comments.
Edgar Castrejon was arrested for various identity theft charges. He was booked at the Ventura County Pre-Trial Detention Facility. The case is pending a criminal filing by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Investigators would like the public to know that California Penal Code 528.5 makes it a crime for any person who knowingly and without consent credibly impersonates another actual person through or on an Internet website or by other electronic means for purposes of harming, intimidating, threatening, or defrauding another person is guilty of a misdemeanor. False information can both discredit individuals and harm the reputations of the victims.
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Instead of a mask, Mr Edgar should put a bag over his head.