He’s a creep

There’s been some creepy shenanigans happening in Templeton and the instigator is also a local decision-maker. 

That guy, David Allen “I’m a Creep” Leader, recently pleaded guilty to felony vandalism and seven counts of violating court orders—restraining orders filed against him by his neighbors. 

After facing, at the highest total count, 32 criminal charges tied to harassment of his neighbors living along a private road in Templeton, he finally admitted: “I’m a weirdo.” He didn’t belong there—in his neighbors’ yards in the middle of the night, slinking around in head-to-toe camouflage that’s meant for snipers. 

Yes, the chair of the Templeton Area Advisory Group (TAAG) was trespassing on his neighbor’s property at 1 a.m. in a ghillie suit, looking like an out-of-place Big Foot on security camera footage. 

“Everybody in the neighborhood has a visceral emotional reaction to that photo,” one neighbor said.

Neighbors have compiled 2,000 images of Leader on their properties over the last three years. There are only about 1,000 days in that span of time. What was he doing?

Shining lights in windows while people are sleeping? Check.

Playing chicken while the neighbor is working on their property? Check.

Creeping where he doesn’t belong? Check. Check. Check.

“It was custom tailored harassment,” one neighbor said. “Whatever bothers you is what he does.” 

Leader could be featured on Netflix as part of the Worst Neighbor Ever documentary series.

Why did he do all of this? A dispute over the private road’s easement that resulted in what prosecutors called a “deranged need for revenge against his neighbors.” After telling New Times that his neighbors weren’t telling the truth earlier this year, Leader was arrested. 

He somehow convinced TAAG to change its bylaws so that someone convicted of a felony could still serve on the board, got arrested, and then pleaded guilty to a felony. Suspicious, amirite? 

Leader repeatedly violated restraining orders in the three years that culminated with his plea. TAAG makes recommendations to the county Board of Supervisors about development projects in the area. Is this the guy that should be weighing in on those? 

Here’s what District Attorney Dan Dow said of the case: “It’s never OK to terrorize the people who live around you.” Duh! You can dislike them, you can disagree with them, but you can’t dress up like Sasquatch the sniper and creep around on their property in the middle of the night! 

Leader’s getting 30 days in jail and two years of felony probation for his admitted misdeeds. But there’s a caveat. If he reoffends, a judge could instigate a two-year county jail sentence.

“He’ll do it again,” a neighbor said. “It’s highly likely. He never stopped.” 

You know who else never stops? Gaea Powell. 

That woman filed another lawsuit that stems from the district attorney’s case against her for voter fraud. This time she filed a defamation lawsuit against someone who she called a former business parter and landlord. 

And guess what? She’s representing herself. Powell’s newfound job is providing free attorney services to herself. Do we think she will try to claim inadequate representation after the criminal case goes to trial? 

She sued Arroyo Grande and its city clerk for not complying with public records she requested as part of the criminal case. That lawsuit was thrown out. She sued the county and County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano for “misusing her influence” by confirming to the media that an investigation against Powell existed. 

Powell ran against Cano in the primary and lost alongside fellow whack-a-doodle Vanessa Rozo. Neither Rozo nor Powell could give a straight answer to the question about whether they thought SLO County’s elections were conducted on the up-and-up (or really any of the questions for that matter). We dodged a bullet! 

Powell is alleging a lot against her former landlord/business partner, but between the lines, the lawsuit is very connected to the fraud case and the question of whether she actually lived in Arroyo Grande when she ran for mayor in 2022 and 2024. 

The fraud trial is supposed to start soon, and I will be watching! 

I’ll also be watching what happens next in Grover Beach. The state weighed in on Save Grover Beach’s building heights ballot measure—and things aren’t looking good over there. 

“Should Measure F-26 pass … the action shall be deemed void,” a letter from the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) said. “If the HCD finds that a city’s actions do not comply with state law, HCD may notify the California Office of the Attorney General that the local government is in violation of state law.”

The state recently sued five cities for being noncompliant with state housing laws! 

What’s the remedy? Well, it really depends on what voters think. If they vote in favor of the measure, Grover Beach is supposed to concurrently update its zoning laws to allow for more housing in other areas of the city—something that usually takes a long-ass time—or face the potential of $10,000-a-month fines. 

How are the measure’s proponents responding? Shrug. 

Supporter Kelvin Coveduck is adamant that the measure needs to be on the ballot now: “A refined version of F-26 in two years will be too far in the future,” he said. “The tall building projects will make Grover Beach unrecognizable in this short time span.” ∆

The Shredder shrugs a lot. Send your shrugs to shredder@newtimesslo.com.

This article appears in July 30- August 6, 2026.