CLEARLAKE >> Who is Damin Pashilk, the 40-year-old Clearlake resident arrested for arson in connection with the Clayton Fire?
Many Lake County residents who woke up Sunday to news of the Saturday night arrest were asking this question. While many pieces to this puzzle remain missing, some clues about Pashilk are found on one of several Facebook pages he maintained.
His cover photo is a stylized representation of the neo-Nazi “SS” symbol.
Looking at his posts going back to 2014, several interests seem to stand out: fishing and smoking weed.
A Sept. 18, 2014 “selfie” posted by Pashilk appears to show him smoking a joint, with the caption, “Puff puff pass make it last yall you don’t pay you don’t smoke.”
The “don’t pay…don’t smoke” remark is one often used by pot dealers.
Pashilk lists his occupation on Facebook as, “Self-employed.”
Another post from 2015 makes an anti-gay slur and there are several posts that are derogatory of women, apparently making reference to women who dated but dumped him.
There are several post that seem to ramble, including this cryptic post from Aug. 16, 2015: “I know when I was a kid I loved Transformers but as an adult and in reality I hate them and it seems that anytime I let someone in they turn out to be one. (Expletive) world is filled with them ugh!!!”
A review of posts back through 2014 could find nothing overt that referred to fire, arson or a hatred towards Lake County.
Ironically, there are posts that are both pro- and anti-law enforcement on his Facebook page.
In this one from Aug. 8, 2015, Pashilk reposted a meme from the Peace Officers of California Facebook page that was captioned, “I’m old school. I believe in having good manners, respecting my elders and helping others when I can.”
But on July 21, 2014, he posted this statement, “Clpd (Clearlake Police Department) are a bunch of schmucks who could screw up a rock fight.”
Finally, there’s the following post from June 28, 2015, one of several that seemed to refer to family and personal problems. “I sense sum turbulence in the near future on the home front…guess I gotta get outside and do some weeding.”
