SLO County man accused of spitting on cars, harassing neighbors. Now he’ll serve jail time

A Cambria man accused of spitting on car windows, vandalizing a vehicle and shining a powerful spotlight in a neighbor’s home will serve jail time.

In May, Benjamin Eugene Franks, 44, entered a plea of no contest in San Luis Obispo Superior Court to misdemeanor charges related to his alleged harassment of residents of the Top of The World neighborhood.

He’s scheduled to report to San Luis Obispo County Jail on Aug. 21 to begin his 40-day sentence.

Franks’ plea, entered May 24, comes after years of complaints from neighbors.

Neighbors say SLO County man spit on car windows

Five Top of the World residents who asked to remain anonymous because they fear reprisal spoke about their alleged interactions with Franks. One called Franks “truly a disturbed person” who needs “serious mental health counseling.”

In March 2021, one neighbor said he noticed “what looked like weird bird poop on my car window.”

He noticed the same slimy mess on his vehicle’s window “on and off” for two years.

Although he initially thought the mysterious muck was caused by “those damn squirrels,” the neighbor eventually decided it was human-related.

“This is Cambria! Who’s walking around in the middle of the night spitting on cars?” he asked rhetorically.

Another neighbor said he first discovered a strange substance on his car window on March 1, 2022. “It looked like spit that contained a chewed-up granola bar,” he said.

After noticing similar slime for three straight days, the neighbor bought a security camera and set it up nearby.

According to the neighbor, video captured by the device showed Franks.

“There was Franks with long shorts, a hoodie, two basset hounds on leashes, and he is spitting on my window,” the neighbor said.

Franks “smeared spit on our car windows sporadically from 2019 to 2022,” said another Top of the World resident, who said they recorded video of Franks and showed it to a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office deputy.

The deputy reportedly replied that “there was little he could do, except talk with Benjamin.”

Top of the World residents also accused Franks of driving aggressively, cussing at neighbors and allowing his dogs to defecate in neighbors’ yards.

“He threw bags of dog waste in the side yard,” one neighbor said of Franks.

Franks also “menaced my wife with his distinctive orange Jeep, forcing her to slam on the brakes and pull off the road,” the neighbor said.

“I was driving back home and he was driving towards me … and he almost ran me off the road,” said a separate neighbor, who has lived in Cambria for a dozen years. “I had to swerve to avoid hitting him.”

“He’s been aggressive like that,” a different neighbor said, “but we don’t want to change our lives because someone apparently has a beef against us.”

San Luis Obispo County Undersheriff Jim Voge, who lives in the Top of the World neighborhood, said he has heard complaints about Franks from “people I trust.”

However, Voge said he has “not witnessed any of his (alleged) criminal behavior.”

“It is unusual in a unique community to hear of such behavior and unwarranted rudeness towards neighbors,” Voge said.

Tony Cipolla, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office, said that deputies have responded to “several incidents involving Benjamin Eugene Franks, which include vandalism, trespassing and violating a criminal protective order.”

The Sheriff’s Office has also “documented several other incidents … that were cause for concern for some of Franks’ neighbors,” Cipolla added.

Cambria resident sentenced to jail for vandalism, violating protective order

In May, San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Tyler Zepp prosecuted the case against Franks, who was accused of causing an estimated $9,000 worth of damage by carving a deep mark on a neighbor’s vehicle.

For that crime, Superior Court Judge Michael Duffy sentenced Franks to serve 30 days in jail, pay a $650 fine and make restitution for the damage.

Franks must also pay a $1,000 fine and serve 10 additional days in jail for violating a criminal protection order that required him not to harass or be within 50 yards of a neighbor.

Franks violated that order in early May by shining a powerful spotlight into the person’s house.

San Luis Obispo County Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth, second in command under District Attorney Dan Dow, said he doubts that Franks will serve his full jail sentence.

“Due to sentencing procedures nowadays, he’ll probably only be in jail for a little over two weeks,” said.

After his release, court records show, Franks will be on supervised probation for two years.

Duffy also ordered the Cambria man to attend anger management therapy.

Attorney Steven L. Crawford, who represented Franks in court, declined to comment in depth on the case.

“There are two sides to every story,” he said.