Fremont Vandals Ordered to Pay $100,000 for Damage to Dam

Three men involved in slashing an inflatable dam along Alameda Creek in Fremont, an act that wasted close to 50 million gallons of water in the midst of the state's drought, are being ordered to pay $100,000 to the local water district that owned the dam.

Under a restitution agreement signed Wednesday, Drake Elkhouri, Dylan Jeffery and Zackory Morton will have to pay the Alameda County Water District $55,000 for security costs. Elkhouri will have to pay $22,000 for water loss and $23,000 to the district's attorneys.

"We are satisfied," said Robert Shaver, the agency's general manager, in an email.

"This crime against our water supply was serious and prosecuted accordingly," Shaver said. "It's a settlement ... while significant, reflects a restitution amount that we feel will actually be paid."

The district spent more than $2 million to replace the dam.

A fourth defendant, Gavin Palmon, was not included in the agreement.

The vandalism on May 21, 2015, and the ensuing loss of water led to investigations by the Fremont Police Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA probe briefly looked into whether the act was a violation of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

Last November, Alameda County prosecutors said the incident was tied to a night of drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. That included statements several of the suspects gave to authorities and a report that involved one of them calling a police tip line from his jail cell, implicating one of the others.

The four men would eventually agree to plea deals.

Elkhouri pleaded guilty to felony vandalism and was sentenced to one year in county jail. The three others pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespassing and served around 40 days in jail.

The inflatable dam is made of rubber and is raised to impound water, which the district transfers to underground storage. The dams are lowered during storms to allow the creek to flow into San Francisco Bay.

It's one of just a few inflatable dams used for water storage in the state. The Sonoma County Water Agency uses one near Forestville that stretches across the Russian River.