VENTURA : Gay Couple File Report Over Flyers

A gay Ventura couple filed a police report Tuesday alleging that a former neighbor distributed flyers in their neighborhood that claimed they both had been diagnosed with AIDS, said a local community activist.

The two men in their 30s moved to the neighborhood a month ago to escape what they claim was repeated harassment from their former neighbor, said Neil Demers-Grey of the Unity Pride Coalition of Ventura County, a gay and lesbian advocacy group.

The men did not want to be identified because they fear the woman, Demers-Grey said.

Once police detectives have reviewed the report, they will determine whether to investigate the incident, said Desk Officer Shelly Kusy.

“The decision is based on suspect information and evidence already obtained or the possibility of getting evidence,” she said, adding that detectives have not yet received the case.

Residents of the Harbor Boulevard neighborhood awoke Sunday morning to find photocopies of a hand-scrawled letter wedged in their doors and on car windshields. The letter read, in part: “As you know, the AIDS virous has affected many people around the world, but who would think that it has come to our neighborhood, well it has . . .”

Demers-Grey said that the couple told him witnesses saw the woman Sunday morning along Harbor Boulevard shortly before the flyers appeared.

Some residents said Tuesday they disagreed with the way the information about their neighbors was disclosed, but agreed they should be informed.

“What if you need to know?” asked Alisha Willhite, 22, a senior at CSUN Ventura. “I work at a horse ranch so I get open wounds on my hands a lot. What if this guy fell down and cut himself and I went to help him?”

Yet other neighbors shrugged off the letter.

“I saw it and said they’re stupid or ignorant,” said Clint Garman, 24. “I don’t care if gay people live next door.”