A building inspector with the City of San Luis Obispo who pleaded guilty to an assault on two people at an Avila Beach bar will begin serving jail time next month.
A San Luis Obispo County Superior Court judge on Thursday said Chris Olcott must begin his 60-day sentence Sept. 6. Olcott has requested to serve his sentence at a “pay-to-stay” jail facility in Southern California despite objection from the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office.
The DA’s Office says requests for a “pay-to-stay” facility are not common.
Olcott’s attorney appeared in court on his behalf Thursday. A restitution hearing is scheduled for December.
In February, Olcott, who is currently out of custody, was sentenced to 60 days in jail for the 2016 assault at Mr. Rick’s.
The assault was caught on surveillance camera and shows Olcott elbowing a woman in the face and then punching a man repeatedly in May of 2016.
Olcott was later charged and the case went to trial, but the jury could not unanimously agree on a verdict.
In February, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault to avoid another jury trial.
He was not placed on paid leave until April, which prompted some criticism from community members.
The city responded at the time by releasing the following statement:
“The City had not seen the video and did not have any detailed understanding of the underlying facts of the case until the video appeared online. Obviously, the actions depicted in the video are appalling and, combined with the guilty plea, warrant follow up to evaluate whether there is a nexus with the employee’s ability to perform his job duties effectively and in the interests of workplace and community safety, which are the City’s priorities. As soon as the City became aware of the violent and seemingly unprovoked nature of the crime, the City took immediate action and placed the employee on administrative leave.”
As of last Friday, Olcott remained on paid leave. The City told KSBY News the process/investigation into Olcott was ongoing and no other information could be released at this time citing personnel matters.
Olcott was still listed on the City’s website as of late Thursday morning.
