Ex-DeMaio staffers suspected in burglary

Two unnamed staffers of California GOP congressional candidate Carl DeMaio may have been responsible for a burglary at the campaign’s headquarters just before the June 3 primary, police said.

San Diego police have confirmed that a break-in did occur at the campaign’s headquarters in the Mira Mesa neighborhood of San Diego on the night of May 27 or early in the morning May 28. The burglars broke thousands of dollars of equipment, including computers and phones.

{mosads}U-T San Diego reported Friday that police are looking at two former campaign staffers as suspects.

“Both staff members are cooperating with our investigation,” a police spokesman told U-T. “We anticipate the our investigation will be turned over to the district attorney’s office in the next couple of weeks.”

The spokesman would not say if the suspects were staffers at the time of the incident.

After the break-in, campaign officials concluded that it must have been an attempt to shut down communications just before the primary.

DeMaio said Friday that he hopes “the individual responsible is held fully accountable for their actions,” according to U-T.

Police said they have not established probable cause to arrest the suspects, nor to identify them.

DeMaio is challenging freshman Rep. Scott Peters (D) for his seat.

In California, every candidate runs in the primary, and the top two run in the final election in November. Peters came in first, followed by DeMaio.