Two former staff members are being blamed for a May break-in at Republican congressional candidate Carl DeMaio’s San Diego campaign headquarters, a source close to the investigation told NBC 7.
Computer screens were smashed, cords and cables were cut, gas cards were stolen and water was poured over laptops, printers and copiers at the Miramar office on May 28, six days before the primary election.
The source says before the burglary and vandalism, two DeMaio staffers were terminated for taking proprietary information from the campaign.
Victims identified those staff members as potential suspects early in the police investigation, said SDPD’s Lt. Kevin Mayer, and the two have cooperated with detectives.
Mayer did confirm the burglary did occur, but at this point, officials have not developed enough probable cause to identify a suspect.
He expects the case will be turned over to the District Attorney’s office within the next couple of weeks, at which point they will decide whether to file charges and make an arrest.
"We were outraged by the damage done to the campaign during this break-in and hope the individual responsible is held fully accountable for their actions,” Dave McCulloch, a spokesperson for the DeMaio campaign, said in a statement Friday.
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This November, DeMaio will try to unseat incumbent Scott Peters in California's 52nd congressional district during the general election.
