3 SLO County properties were searched by FBI earlier this month, spokeswoman says
An FBI spokeswoman said Thursday that a total of three properties were searched by agents on March 11, including the County Government Center in San Luis Obispo and a residence in Pismo Beach.
But spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said that because the searches were conducted via a warrant signed by a judge under seal, she is unable to provide more details or confirm whether the Pismo Beach property was the home of county Supervisor Adam Hill, as Cal Coast News reported late Wednesday.
In that article, the website claims Eimiller confirmed the Pismo Beach property was Hill’s.
“I confirmed that the bureau executed multiple searches on 3/11, the day the SLO (County Government Center) was searched, including a residence in Pismo Beach. That’s it,” Eimiller wrote in an email to The Tribune on Thursday.
Eimiller would not confirm the location of the third property but said Thursday that the agency is in talks with the U.S. Department of Justice about possibly releasing more details about their investigation given the public interest.
Hill has not attended supervisor meetings nor returned multiple requests for comment since March 11, the same day he was taken to the hospital. Hill did not immediately respond to a requests for comment on this story.
Speculation has mounted whether Hill was the subject of the searches, which occurred around 7 a.m., and included at least two agents who were seen on the fourth floor, where county supervisors have offices.
Eimiller said Thursday that no arrests have been made nor charges filed in relation to the subject of the searches.
SLO County cooperating with FBI
The FBI served the warrant at 7:10 a.m. at the County Government Center at 1055 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo, county administration said in a news release that day.
The county said it complied with the warrant and is cooperating with the agency.
“We are sharing with the public what little information we can,” county Administrative Officer Wade Horton said in the release. “The FBI warrant is under seal, and we have no further information to provide, as we are cooperating with the investigation.”
The warrant, which originated out of the U.S. District Court’s Central California division, was signed by a federal judge, Eimiller said, and the agency is therefore unable to comment.
Horton said that he and the county’s legal counsel both were present during the March 11 search of the government center.
“There’s no danger to the public,” Horton said at the time.
The next day, Hill’s wife, Dee Torres-Hill, confirmed that Hill was in recovery and under doctors’ care after emergency personnel were called to his home in Pismo Beach around 1:22 p.m. on March 11 and taken to the emergency room at Arroyo Grande Community Hospital.
Hill was released from the emergency room to doctors’ care March 12, Torres-Hill said.
“We sincerely need a little time to sort things out, and we ask for some private space while we do that,” Torres-Hill said at the time.
Hill is currently chair of the Board of Supervisors, which last met on Tuesday.
Hill was re-elected to a fourth term on the Board of Supervisors about a week before the FBI search, defeating challenger Stacy Korsgaden with a razor-thin 51% of the vote.
