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The Beach Reporter - Jan. 13, 2005
Hermosa Beach News
HB Councilman disputes pier plaza incident (1/13)
By Whitney Youngs
According to a Police Department memorandum obtained by The Beach Reporter last Wednesday, a Hermosa Beach City Councilman and Planning Commissioner allegedly used obscenities and were verbally abusive to several employees working at a downtown bar in early December, which, according to several witnesses, they threatened to close down.
According to the memorandum written by Hermosa Beach Police Officer Donavan Sellan, addressed to Lt. Lance Jaakola and sent to several upper level city employees, a doorman, Rick Contreras, working at Dragon Dec. 12 flagged down Sellan and another officer at about 1:25 a.m.
The doorman told Sellan that City Councilman Michael Keegan and another man, now identified as Planning Commissioner Rick Koenig, had "just cursed and yelled at him and two other employees."
Whether or not such an incident occurred as reported is still a matter of conjecture based on whom is telling the story. In the memo, the doorman said Keegan was with another City Councilman he did not recognize. The witness said he knew it was Keegan because he contended that he has seen him "drinking inside the bar in the past."
"I asked him why he thought the other subject was a City Councilman and he told me because the person identified himself as one," reported Sellan. "Contreras said that both of them were heavily intoxicated and they were staggering. Contreras told me that they advised him to shut the (expletive) front doors and to turn the (expletive) music down. Contreras said that because of their verbal abusive behavior he went and got the two on-duty managers, Jason Cochran and Mark Welling."
Keegan denies most of what was written in the report including statements that he was intoxicated, that he used obscenities, threatened the establishment's staff and even the time he was there. "When I see someone doing something wrong that I think can be remedied very simply, I'd probably do it myself," said Keegan in an interview Monday. "If I saw someone violating a rule and it was not a dangerous act, I'd probably correct them and ask them not to do it. If I saw someone riding a bike in the red zone in the city when the red lights are flashing, I might ask them to get off their bike and walk it.
"That night, I was inside for a moment and I discussed this issue outside with the doorman because I couldn't identify anyone who worked there inside the bar, so the conversation took place outside." Cochran, speaking for himself and on behalf of the rest of the Dragon staff that witnessed the alleged incident, declined to comment on the matter entirely.
In the memo, Sellan also reported that the unidentified man who has now been determined to be Koenig, "told him in one month that the bar is up for review and that they were going to close the bar down," stated Sellan. "I asked Cochran what the unidentified councilman specifically stated and he told me 'I'm going to (expletive) close this place.' He also said that both of them told him that he needed to review the (expletive) C.U.P. regarding their front doors."
Sellan reported that Cochran said the men allegedly used the "'F' word" at least a dozen times. He also told Sellan that both men were very intoxicated, had slurred speech and were staggering, and, "could not believe that City Councilmen would conduct themselves like that and he felt intimidated." Welling was also present when the alleged tirade occurred, also felt intimidated and was also shocked that the two men would act in such a manner.
Keegan said he has been inside the restaurant/bar one other time and he had filed a complaint on it a previous time in which he called the police Oct. 31 at 4 p.m. Keegan said this establishment is much louder than others on the plaza and refutes that he was there at the time reported. He said he approached the staff about this issue several hours earlier.
"The council has made it clear that we want the noise reduced and we have made it clear to the city manager and that is all we can do," said Keegan. "I asked them to turn the music down. I will tell you I was not there at 1:25 in the morning. I will say that if there was an investigation to be had for a report then why didn't the police contact me? They have my home address, home number and cell phone number. I was never contacted about the matter and in fact, I only read the memo after the press received it."
Councilman Sam Edgerton, who has over the years disagreed with Keegan on various political issues including the full deployment of a citywide Wi-Fi system that would provide free Internet access to residents in town, said he felt that what the men admit they said was still inappropriate. "He and Koenig are not law- or code-enforcement officers and they should not be acting as such.
There is a proper way to work with the city to get the noise level reduced," said Edgerton. "This has become a priority item with the police and they are, in fact, enforcing the noise ordinance now more than ever. For Keegan to go over and berate someone, drunk or sober, is wrong. For Koenig, he is on the commission that actually enforces from a board level the C.U.P.s that each bar and restaurant has and I feel that this really undermines his ability to hear any issue if he is indicating a bias."
Koenig, who was appointed to the Planning Commission by the City Council in July to a four-year term that will expire at the end of June 2008, denied the content of the report. He also said that he and Keegan have been friends, "for a long time" and based on his recollection, ran into Keegan in downtown Hermosa Beach, and accompanied him on to the pier plaza where they approached a few staff members at Dragon and left after speaking with them.
"No good can come from this and it's not true," said Koenig on Monday from his initial thoughts after reading the memo himself. "I feel that it's some kind of political move that I don't understand. I donate hundreds of hours every year to the community and this is just vicious. I was down there with Michael, nobody was drunk and nobody was swearing, and (Dragon staff) were asked politely to turn the music down and close the doors and that's it. That's the end of it."
Koenig, a lifetime resident of Hermosa Beach, received the Man of the Year award by the Chamber of Commerce in 2003. The award is given to those individuals who exhibit exemplary civic awareness and service to the community. Koenig donates his time to citywide events like the St. Patrick's Day Parade and the Project Touch Car Show; and serves on the board of many nonprofit groups, including the Kiwanis Club, the Hermosa Arts Foundation and the Historical Society.
Voters elected Keegan, who is the owner of Manhattan Bread and Bagel Company in Manhattan Beach, to the council in November 2001 for his first term in office. In a Q&A feature that ran in The Beach Reporter in May 2002, Keegan was posed the question of how to create a downtown that more represents a balance between a small-town/neighborhood atmosphere and a nightlife environment.
Keegan responded by saying, "I think harmony between residential concerns and business concerns will never reach that perfect level. We need to step up on enforcement of our conditional use permits, and we need to enforce all the rules and laws of our city ... I think we are working toward letting the downtown area know that we are serious and we are going do what we can to enforce these laws. I think with prior City Councils it has always been business as usual with lax enforcement, but that is all changing with two new council members."
Later in the report, Sellan wrote that both Keegan and the unidentified man (Koenig), "left staggering toward" the Mermaid, which is located almost directly across the way at the northwest corner of the plaza. "They (the Dragon staff) wanted me to do something about the incident and I advised them that the threat did not appear to be a crime but that I would inform my supervisor," wrote Sellan. "I think someone needs to talk to Keegan and to the Dragon staff to smooth this incident over."
Mayor Art Yoon, upon reading the memo, addressed the issue of elected officials perhaps using their status or office to act above the law or above ethical standards becoming a City Council member. "It seems to me that there is an allegation being made that these two men were out of control and out of line, and according to the memo I read a few staff members are alleging it," said Yoon. "I don't even know what to believe because it's not even a police report, it's a memo. So I'm not even sure this incident actually occurred but if it did no one from Dragon is really saying anything.
As far as I'm concerned, there was nothing he did that was illegal. Is it unethical? Well, that's dependent upon the facts. It's possible that Dragon was completely out of compliance and so Councilman Keegan was right on target saying, 'Hey, you guys need to shut your doors.' Now if that's all he said, there's nothing wrong with that." "The only part that might make this whole thing unethical is that if Michael is using his office to threaten someone or something on the issue of compliance when in fact there is no compliance issue. I don't know, I wasn't there," added Yoon.
In a separate incident, Keegan was reported to have been intoxicated at the 2003 city Christmas party where he allegedly made disparaging remarks about the city police department as being "... a bunch of overpaid security guards."
Hermosa Beach Police Officer Association President Jaime Ramirez drafted a letter to the City Council members Jan. 13, 2004, based on the account of one member of the department. "This statement was made in the presence of the member and his spouse," wrote Ramirez. "In addition, Mr. Keegan appeared extremely intoxicated and exhibited inappropriate, unprofessional behavior in the presence of our members and their spouses.
The HBPOA has decided not to make this information public and trusts that you will deal with the matter appropriately so that we can prevent this type of incident from occurring again."
Keegan also denies that he was intoxicated at this particular function and contends that he is not a favorite among officers within the Police Department because of his opinions on how the police enforce the law in the downtown area. "I think if the police would enforce the rules on the books regarding the noise ordinance, we wouldn't have as much trouble as we see down there," said Keegan.
"I don't agree with the tactic of parking your vehicle out on the plaza and standing in front of it, and if that is the police method we are going to use, I don't agree with it. I think officers should be roving the area and moving around as much as possible, and maybe my disagreement with police deployment could lead to some animosity for police to write memos about me."
Fellow Councilman J.R. Reviczky also read the memo and came to the conclusion that it is effectively a "he said/she said" incident. "You're only seeing one side of the story and I'm not excited about it," he said. "As far as last year's Christmas party, I was not party to that nor did I witness that. I heard about it but I don't know anything more. I'm always reluctant to make judgments as a third party to issues."
Reviczky also added that he feels it's appropriate to tell any business to turn down its music and such if it is in violation of its conditional use permit.
"I've had residents complain to me about that place, and I've gone down there and witnessed it myself," he explained. "I've called the watch commander and asked them to talk to them and he did.
The only thing Mike did was leave one step out of the process and I just don't see it being a big deal, and that's really the only thing I know he did for sure which is what its C.U.P. says it is supposed to be doing. All of the other stuff, I don't know."
The Easy Reader - Jan. 13, 2005
by Robb Fulcher
Councilman Michael Keegan and Planning Commissioner Rick Koenig have denied
allegations that they yelled and cursed at employees of a Pier Plaza bar as
Koenig threatened to close the place down, in what the bar staff described as a
drunken late-night incident.
The allegations by employees of the Dragon Bar were written up by Hermosa Beach
Police Officer Donavan Sellan in a memo to one of his superiors. “I’m not going
to dignify that memo with a response,” Keegan said on Monday. “It didn’t go down
like they said it did.”
Keegan declined to discuss the matter in detail but said there was no
drunkenness and no profanity. He said he and Koenig “went there and asked them
to turn the music down and shut the door. And that’s it. And they said no.”
Koenig called the memo “ridiculous” and also denied the allegations. “There was
no profanity, no staggering, whatever,” he said.
He said he and Keegan asked the Dragon staff to turn down the music and close
the door. Koenig said he did not recall the staff’s response. “I don’t remember
exactly what they said,” Koenig said. “…We pretty much left.”
‘Cursed and yelled’ - In the memo,
Sellan wrote that Dragon doorman Rick Contreras flagged him down about 1:30 a.m.
Sunday, Dec. 12 to report that Keegan and another man, who Contreras believed
was also a councilman, “cursed and yelled at him and two other employees.”
“Contreras said that both of them were heavily intoxicated and they were
staggering,” the memo continued. “Contreras told me that they advised him to
shut the ‘f---ing’ doors and turn the ‘f---ing’ music down.”
A Dragon manager, Jason Cochran, told Sellan that “the unidentified councilman,”
who turned out to be Koenig, said, “I’m going to f---ing close this place,” the
officer wrote. Both Keegan and Koenig told Cochran that he “needed to review”
instructions about the Dragon’s front doors contained in the conditional use
permit that allows the bar to operate. “I think someone needs to talk to Keegan
and the Dragon staff to smooth this incident over,” Sellan wrote.
Conditional use permits are regularly reviewed by the planning commission and
the city council. The commission makes recommendations to the council, which can
revoke the permits. Police Chief Michael Lavin said the behavior alleged in the
memo would not violate any laws, and City Manager Steve Burrell said the
behavior would not violate any city policies, rules or regulations. Both
officials said no further action was called for.
Dragon staff mentioned in the memo were unavailable by press time.
‘Kind of unfortunate’ - Councilman
Pete Tucker said council members or commissioners who notice noise violations
should report them to city staff for enforcement rather than take matters into
their own hands.
The alleged behavior of Keegan and Koenig “really muddied the waters” when it
comes to reviewing the Dragon’s conditional use permit, Tucker said. “How can
either of these guys sit up there on the council or the commission and sit in
judgment on [the Dragon]?” Tucker said.
“It’s kind of unfortunate. It’s like the little badge incident in Redondo,”
Tucker said, referring to a December 2003 incident in which Redondo Councilman
Don Szerlip flashed his ceremonial badge during a profanity-laced run-in with a
local resident. Szerlip reported his own behavior to a police officer, and
apologized to the resident and to his own council colleagues.
‘Premature to judge’ - Hermosa
Mayor Art Yoon took a milder view of the Dragon allegations. “I think it’s
premature to make any judgment on the issue,” Yoon said.”…At this point I don’t
know exactly what happened.”
He said he called Keegan as a courtesy to tell him there were press inquiries
into the memo. “Michael told me ‘Art, there’s no truth to it,’” Yoon said. “I
never would have characterized Michael Keegan as being discourteous,” Yoon said.
Yoon pointed to the Dragon staff’s erroneous description of Koenig as a
councilman and said, “Already there is a little inaccuracy in some descriptions
in the memo.” Councilmen Sam Edgerton and JR Reviczky were not immediately
available. ER
The Daily Breeze – January 7, 2005
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Hermosa officials accused of bar confrontation
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HB City Councilman Michael Keegan denies he bullied anybody during incident at Dragon Bar. He says he merely asked for doors to be shut and music to be turned down.
A Hermosa Beach Police Department memorandum circulating at City Hall describes witness accounts of a city councilman and a planning commissioner in an obscenity-laced tirade allegedly threatening to close down a bar on Pier Avenue if employees did not shut the doors to block out noise. Quoting employees of the bar, the memo states that Councilman Michael Keegan and another "councilman" confronted the doorman of the Dragon Bar about 1:25 a.m. on Dec. 12, yelling obscenities and demanding that he shut the front doors and turn down the music. Keegan denied that he ever bullied anybody during the incident and said the man who was with him at the time was not a councilman but Planning Commissioner Rick Koenig. "I only told them to turn the music down and that they need to keep their doors shut according to their conditional use permit," he said. "I did not yell obscenities. I wasn't drunk. When they didn't do anything, I just walked away." Hermosa Beach police officer Donavan Sellan states in his memo that the bar employees told him they were intimidated by the men's behavior and "could not believe they would conduct themselves in that manner." They also told the officer that both men appeared to be drunk, had slurred speech and were staggering, according to the memo. One of the employees said Keegan and Koenig uttered expletives more than a dozen times during the encounter. Keegan denied spouting expletives or telling Dragon employees that he would shut them down. The two men, who have long been good friends, only had a couple of beers the entire night, Keegan said. Koenig called the allegations "vicious." "I was shocked when I read this memo," he said. "All we did was tell them to turn the music down. There was no obscene language. We were not inebriated. We're all grown-ups here. This is ridiculous." Dragon has probably received only one citation for overcrowding since it opened its doors in June, Hermosa Beach police officials said. Neither the bar owner nor the managers returned calls on Thursday. Other council members said they are confused and don't know what to make of the memo. Mayor Art Yoon said he believes the incident is worthy of an investigation. "Right now it's just a he-said-they-said kind of thing," Yoon said. "I need to know what the truth is before I start judging people. It's important to find out what the facts are." There is neither a police report nor an ongoing investigation of the incident, City Manager Steve Burrell said. Councilman Sam Edgerton, Keegan's longtime political rival, said he is concerned about the timing of the incident because the Dragon's conditional use permit is up for review. "It's an issue we have to address as a council," he said. "How can the Planning Commission review their permit without bias or prejudice after this memo?" But the memo doesn't tell the whole story, Councilman J.R. Reviczky said. "I've been to numerous events with Michael," he said. "I've never seen him drunk or conducting himself in that manner." Reviczky said he has heard that the Dragon has received several warnings from city officials for violating its conditional use permit. Councilman Pete Tucker said that the root of the issue is that the city does not have a consistent procedure to monitor whether bars adhere to their conditional use permits. "As a city we've never enforced them consistently," he said. But that doesn't give any council member the license to directly approach a business, Tucker said. "We're not supposed to go around telling people what to do," he said. "That's why we have the Police Department. We need to go through the proper channels. We can't be the judge and jury at the same time." Keegan also was the subject of a memo dated Jan. 14, 2004, from the Hermosa Beach Police Officers Association. In it, association President Jaime Martinez wrote that Keegan was heard referring to police officers as "a bunch of overpaid security guards" and that he "exhibited inappropriate, unprofessional behavior in the presence of our members and their spouses." Martinez said in his memo that the association had decided not to make the matter public, hoping the council would privately discourage such incidents from happening in the future. Keegan said that memo also was about an issue that was taken out of context. "I basically said officers shouldn't remain stationary in front of bars, that they should quickly go in and out and that otherwise it makes them look like overpaid security guards," he said. Neither memo should have been sent out, Keegan said. "It's unfair because it doesn't give me a chance to tell my side of the story," he said. |
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The Beach Reporter - Jan. 6, 2005
Hermosa Beach News
Thousands ring in New Year on Pier Plaza (1/6)
By Whitney Youngs
As in years past, a sea of visitors and residents once again gathered on the pier plaza in downtown Hermosa Beach for this year's annual New Year's Eve celebration that police characterized as less raucous compared to previous years with no reports of serious injury.
Thousands of people attended the city-sponsored celebration and listened to the swinging sounds of Big Band 2000, which performed on a temporary stage constructed on the plaza. People donning festive holiday party hats and outfits danced the night away, and mingled with friends and strangers awaiting the final countdown led by Hermosa Beach Mayor Art Yoon.
According to Press Information Officer Sgt. Paul Wolcott, officers reported no serious crimes. However, police did notice an unsanctioned fireworks show with flares shooting off from the beach at the stroke of midnight. "We didn't have any major problems or fights, things went really well," said Wolcott. "There was a huge but very well-behaved crowd."
Wolcott estimated that between 2,000 to 3,000 people turned out for the event on the plaza and described the crowd as being very thin in the early evening and increasing in size closer to the countdown. "We were standing room only from Hermosa Avenue down to The Strand," added Wolcott. "It was just really great and everyone had a really good time. There were a lot of families out and all of the restaurants had some great business. Hennessey's even had a New York-style ball drop."
It was South Bay resident Grace Davis' first time at the event where she came with friends. "I think this is a really great community event and even though I don't live here in Hermosa, I feel like the city has kind of welcomed me to ring in the New Year with it," she said.
As of press time, Wolcott was uncertain of the exact number of people arrested or cited for certain violations, but said the evening on the whole was fairly tame in that respect. "We had some arrests for drunk driving, some arrests for drunk in public and about three or four citations issued for open containers," he recalled. "There was nothing major. The only other thing that happened was that someone coordinated an impromptu, unauthorized, unsanctioned fireworks show at midnight on the beach. It must have been expensive because they were really high quality. But it was right at midnight and of course, it was illegal and had we caught them, we would have issued citations. But we were pretty tied up at midnight with other things."
A few members of the Hermosa Beach City Council - J.R. Reviczky, Yoon and Peter Tucker - were on hand for the countdown to the New Year. Big Band 2000 began playing at 8:30 p.m. and ended its performance at about 12:15 a.m. This year, the event cost the city an estimated $23,000, some of which was offset by donations. The celebration has been met with a great reception among residents who feel it's an event for Hermosa Beach people.
"Things went very smoothly," said Reviczky. "It was a smaller crowd and I thought there were more families this time, so it was a very uneventful evening. It was a good evening as far as behavior was concerned but it was also a good evening as far as celebrating the new year, so it was good all the way around."
Jared and Erin Nesbitt, residents of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, were out visiting for the holidays and enjoyed taking in the South Bay where they could spend New Year's Eve outside.
"Usually, we are inside a house, away from the snow and so this is quite a change for us to be able to stand here, look up at these huge palm trees and out at the beach when ringing in 2005," said Jared. "No wonder they call places like this paradise and the people who live here in this city are very lucky."
The Beach Reporter - Jan. 6, 2005
Hermosa Beach News
City honored in national magazine (1/6)
By Whitney Youngs
Hermosa Beach kicked off the new year in an auspicious way by once again making national headlines in this month's issue of Coastal Living magazine as the lead story in the publication's travel section.
Hermosa Beach made headlines last year as 2004's best beach on the U.S. mainland according to the national magazine Reader's Digest. Editors of the well-read publication chose Hermosa as the best beach as part of its "American's 100 Best" spread that also included categories like best fishing, roller coaster, layover and zoo. The publication has about 40 million readers.
According to Coastal Living's Senior Editor Susan Haynes, the nationwide publication has a circulation of 650,000 and a readership of 3 million. "Our topics cover homes, gardens, lifestyle, travel, food and entertaining within sight, sound, taste, touch or smell of saltwater with the exception being that we do some Great Lakes coverage," said Haynes. "We call that the North Coast. Our editorial boundaries, geographically speaking, are the Pacific Coast, the Atlantic Coast, the Gulf Coast, what we call the North Coast and we do dip our toes into the non-U.S. Caribbean, the Canadian coast and the coast of Mexico. When I say U.S. coast, that does include Alaska and Hawaii. This year we will be doing our first Central America story in Costa Rica."
In its January issue now at newsstands, Coastal Living features the tiny beach town over a three-page spread in which writer Heather John opens the piece by remarking about the city's rich surfing history from the 1940s through the 1960s. "Heather lives in Southern California. She actually is a senior editor at Bon Appetite magazine and she has done a lot of freelance for us over the years," added Haynes. "She and I used to work together for a wine magazine up in the Napa Valley. I came to Coastal Living and she went to the Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine and then moved over to Bon Appetite. I am always eager to get her ideas and suggestions for Southern California coverage and she had pitched Hermosa Beach as a great little beach town."
John goes on to describe the pier plaza and the city's unique and thriving downtown area both in the daytime and evening.
"The drive down palmy Pier Avenue spills onto the town square and the 104-year-old Hermosa Pier," states the piece. "Boutiques selling surf wear, antiques and knickknacks line the streets. At dusk, lights sparkle from tree fronds, and young, suntanned crowds mingle on Pier Avenue at Aloha Sharkeez sports bar and Patrick Malloy's. Nearby, The Strand - an impressive beachfront path that runs south from Santa Monica - is home to old-school haunts such as the retro Mermaid and its neighbor, The Poop Deck."
John also wrote in detail about the amenities and services offered at the Beach House where she stayed anonymously for about three or four days. Coastal Living, based in Birmingham, Ala., is a member of the publishing giant Southern Progress Corporation that is more than 100 years old. It has been a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. since 1985. The firm also prints magazines like Cooking Light, Health, Southern Living, Southern Accents, Progressive Farmer and Cottage Living. The magazine was launched in May 1997 and will put out nine issues this year and 10 issues in 2006.
John also goes on to mention Martha's 22nd Street Grill as a hot spot for brunch, Hama Hermosa as a restaurant where you can find decent-priced sushi and avant garde cocktails, the Comedy & Magic Club where you can stop by and take in acts by Jay Leno and Ray Romano, and Gallery C as the new venue generating a great deal of attention as one of the few emerging efforts within Hermosa's burgeoning art scene.
City-sponsored events don't go without notice as John also makes reference to the Fiesta Hermosa events, Sunset Concerts and Aloha Days along with the city's beloved Surfer's Walk of Fame. "The chamber has invested a good portion of Fiesta profits to our Visitors Bureau marketing plan and the results have certainly been great," said Carla Merriman, the chamber's executive director. "We can now add a top travel story in Coastal Living magazine to our designation as 'Best Beach Town' by the Travel Channel and 'Best Beach' by Reader's Digest."
The Daily Breeze – January 2, 2005
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Police: Increase in DUIs in 2005
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On New Year's holiday, 87 alcohol-related arrests are made countywide, with 27 in South Bay. In Hermosa Beach, crowds on Pier Avenue were down during the evening, but the plaza from The Strand to Hermosa Avenue was standing-room-only at midnight, police Sgt. Paul Wolcott said. A few skirmishes occurred, including at the 705 club, and a few people were cited for public drunkenness, but overall the crowd was well-behaved.
A dejected veteran South Bay traffic officer said Saturday that so many people were drinking and driving on the New Year's holiday, a police task force found it difficult to keep up with them. Officers made 27 drunken driving arrests, up from a usual number in the teens, Gardena police traffic Investigator Carl Freeman said. "It was incredible," said Freeman, a member of the South Bay Regional Driving Under the Influence Task Force. "It appears to me that those who choose to drink and drive just don't understand the seriousness of what they are doing." Overall, during 10 days of task force patrols, arrests were down. Police cited the bad weather for keeping people at home. This year, 187 people found themselves in jail in patrols before Christmas and New Year's, compared to 213 last year. But officers found so many people intoxicated in their cars on New Year's Eve and in the early hours of the new year, they chose to keep patrolling beyond their 3 a.m. cutoff and stayed on the streets until 5 a.m. In the last three nights of patrols, DUI task force officers made 75 arrests, compared to 58 in 2003 and 56 in 2002. "It's disconcerting as a citizen, as well as an officer," Freeman said. "There was nothing major as far as significant injuries or significant pursuits. There were just a lot of people who ingested a lot of alcohol and unfortunately many of them chose to drive." The DUI task force -- comprised of officers from the California Highway Patrol, Palos Verdes Estates, Torrance, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, El Camino College and sheriff's deputies assigned to Lawndale -- annually work the holidays to take intoxicated motorists off the street. Patrols moved throughout the South Bay, and arrests occurred in each city. Freeman made arrests in Inglewood, Torrance and Hermosa Beach. One police unit made six arrests in Gardena. One man who spent the night in jail was from Michigan, apparently in town to attend the Rose Bowl game. Whether he made it to the game in Pasadena was unknown, because "well, we got his car," Freeman said. Most of those arrested were from the South Bay, Freeman said. Throughout the county, CHP officers arrested 87 motorists on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, eight more than last year's total of 79. Statewide, officers made 485 DUI arrests, compared to 481 last year. In Hawthorne, police officers chased and arrested a couple of drivers who turned out to be intoxicated, Hawthorne police Lt. Dennis Barberic said. In Carson, deputies arrested a suspected drunken driver who crashed into a couple of parked cars in the west end of the city, deputies said. Alcohol also played a role in disturbances at Latitudes on Harbor Drive, where Redondo Beach officers used pepper spray and their batons to disperse some people trying to break into a private party. At 10:40 p.m. Friday, police received a call that 150 people were trying to rush the door, Redondo Beach police Sgt. Phil Keenan said. Officers dispersed the crowd, but were called again at 1:30 a.m. Saturday when another 150 people were trying to get in. No one was arrested or hurt. Officers from Torrance and Hermosa Beach arrived to help, and a police helicopter patrolled from the air. Officers were called to a fight at Denny's at 3:40 a.m. Saturday, but when they arrived, the participants split in different directions, Keenan said. At 11:30 p.m. New Year's Eve, officers from Redondo Beach, Torrance and Hermosa Beach raced to Old Tony's restaurant on the Redondo Beach pier when someone called police on a cellular telephone to report that two men with guns had entered the restaurant, taken hostages and ordered everyone to lie prone on the floor, Keenan said. Police arrived and found the call was bogus. "There is information to lead us to the person that made the call," Keenan said. "The investigation is ongoing." In Hermosa Beach, crowds on Pier Avenue were down during the evening, but the plaza from The Strand to Hermosa Avenue was standing-room-only at midnight, police Sgt. Paul Wolcott said. A few skirmishes occurred, including at the 705 club, and a few people were cited for public drunkenness, but overall the crowd was well-behaved. Wolcott said celebrants in the plaza seemed to enjoy a Times Square-style ball that was dropped from the roof of Hennessey's Tavern at midnight. "Everybody seemed to be having a real good time," Wolcott said. "We didn't have any major incidents at all." Wolcott said that more taxis were needed to take passengers from the area. Some people were still waiting for rides at 3:15 a.m., long after the bars closed. Police and deputies in the Harbor Area, Carson and Hawthorne said reports of gunfire at midnight were significantly down and that messages warning against the activity were working. As far as alcohol, however, Freeman said the South Bay DUI task force will become more vigilant in the coming year with state-funded sobriety checkpoints in several cities and task force operations once a month, as well as the holiday period. |
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The Daily Breeze – December 17, 2004
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3 convicted for armed carjacking in Hermosa
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Jury acquits the fourth suspect whose attorney said was just hanging out with the wrong crowd.
Jurors this week convicted three of four young men who were on trial for an armed Hermosa Beach carjacking that spawned two high-speed police pursuits.
They also found one of the three, 23-year-old ex-convict Danuyel Ezikiel Bryant, guilty of an earlier kidnapping, robbery and carjacking in Beverly Hills. The Torrance Superior Court jury deliberated about two days after approximately six days of testimony.
Marcus Ramsey, 23, was convicted of carjacking and evading police. The jury found that he used a firearm during the July 29 carjacking of a disc jockey in a dark parking lot.
Ramsey told Mark Pacheco to give him his Chevrolet Tahoe, then pointed a gun at Pacheco's chest. When a Hermosa Beach patrol car drove up, Pacheco yelled to the officer and Ramsey drove off in the Tahoe.
Police spotted him at Rosecrans Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard, and he led them on a high-speed chase through several red lights until an officer bumped the Tahoe with his car on Century Boulevard near Denker Avenue. A gun was found under the front passenger seat. Ramsey's attorney admitted his client committed the carjacking, but argued there was not enough evidence to prove he used a gun.
Bryant and William Leander Jones, 22, who was driving the Mercedes-Benz that Bryant stole in Beverly Hills, were also convicted of the armed carjacking, while Jones was found guilty of evading police for a chase that went the wrong way down one-way streets, then on to The Strand in Hermosa and the beach.
When the car got stuck in the sand, Bryant got out and ran toward the ocean. Prosecutors believe he threw a gun into the waves, while his defense attorney argued he was gesturing his frustration at being caught.
Attorneys for Bryant and Jones argued to the jury that their clients were not in on the carjacking of the Tahoe. Bryant stole the Mercedes-Benz on July 16 after approaching a woman in the car in her garage, tapping on the window with the gun and asking for her money.
Despite her pleas to stay outside, Bryant also took the woman back into her home and stole $600 cash and jewelry before leaving in her car. The three are scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 27 by Judge William R. Hollingsworth Jr.
Bryant faces a maximum 50 years to life in prison, Ramsey 19 years and eight months and Jones 10 years and eight months, according to Deputy District Attorney Warren Kato.
"I was impressed with the diligent manner with which the jury deliberated," Kato said Thursday, a day after the verdict was reached. "They were certainly correct in rendering the three guilty verdicts. I obviously disagree with the one not guilty verdict, but I respect their decision."
The acquitted man, Tyrone Ramsey, Marcus Ramsey's 24-year-old cousin, was the only one to testify. He told the jury they went to Aloha Sharkeez on Hermosa Avenue and were looking for an after-hours club when his cousin got out of the car to go talk to someone.
Tyrone Ramsey said the carjacking wasn't planned, and his attorney argued to the jury that the only thing his client did wrong was hang out with "bad guys." During an interview Thursday, Tyrone Ramsey's attorney, Andrew Edward Smyth, said he thought his client should have never been put on trial. "I think he was telling the truth," Smyth said.
The other defense attorneys did not return phone calls seeking comment. |
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The Easy Reader – December 16, 2004
by Robb Fulcher
A jury has rejected claims
that a police officer assaulted a Hermosa businessman four years ago, closing
the latest chapter in a courtroom saga that has cost the city $250,000. The
Superior Court jury deliberated for about an hour-and-a-half on Friday, before
unanimously finding in favor of the city and Officer David Bohacik.
During the three-week trial an attorney for Hermosa locksmith Frank W. Hallstein
Jr. claimed that Bohacik lunged at Hallstein and had to be restrained, then
challenged the locksmith to a fight during a July 2000 incident at the Pier
Plaza. Attorney Thomas Beck argued that Bohacik was angered for reasons
involving Hallstein’s friendship with another officer who is unfriendly with
Bohacik.
An
attorney for the city argued that Hallstein had “stalked” Bohacik, monitoring
police radio frequencies and following the officer to calls, deliberately
provoking the incident on the Plaza. Attorney Raymond Szu called the incident “a
15-second verbal argument that took place four years ago.”
Officer was disciplined
The incident, which occurred shortly after midnight July 22, 2000, was the
subject of an internal investigation by the Police Department that resulted in a
one-day suspension of Bohacik, at the time a 13-year veteran of the city police
force.
In a confidential memo to the officer, then-Police Chief Val Straser wrote that
Bohacik had violated a department rule by failing to be “courteous, civil and
respectful” to a private citizen. “You believed Hallstein was looking in your
direction, shaking his head back and forth, rolling his eyes and laughing at
you,” Straser wrote to Bohacik. “Hallstein stated he noticed you snapping your
head in a spastic manner and your eyes were buggy-like in rage.”
Bohacik told the locksmith to “stop the ‘bull**it’ of staring and ‘eye-f**king’”
him, Straser wrote. “You then challenged Hallstein to meet you after work,
without a uniform so you could settle the matter,” Straser wrote.
An exchange of insults followed, according to Straser: “At least I have a
wife,” Hallstein said to Bohacik. “You call that a wife?” Bohacik said,
referring to Hallstein’s spouse, who was not present. Straser did not conclude
that Bohacik lunged at Hallstein.
No case’
The jury verdict on Friday marked the second court decision in favor of the
city. Hallstein initially filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court, which a
judge dismissed. Hallstein then turned to the state superior court to file the
assault lawsuit.
Hermosa Beach Police Chief Mike Lavin said he was relieved by the jury’s
verdict, and complained that Hallstein “really had no case.” “Unfortunately the
taxpayer is the loser in this,” Lavin said.
The city spent $250,000 to cover what is in effect the maximum insurance
deductible for any individual claim, Hermosa Beach Risk Manager Michael Earl
said. After that money was spent, additional legal fees and expenses were paid
out of a 30-city insurance pool to which Hermosa belongs.
Beck said he took Hallstein’s case on contingency, expecting that the locksmith
would be awarded damages in federal court. Beck billed Hallstein for no fees,
but did bill for his court-related expenses. Hallstein said that figure totaled
about $20,000.
Trading stalking charges
During closing arguments in the lawsuit last week, Szu told the six-woman,
six-man jury that Hallstein “stalked” Bohacik on more than 70 occasions,
listening to police radio frequencies and showing up at the scene of crimes and
other calls. In efforts to keep the officer and the locksmith apart, Bohacik
worked graveyard shifts at times, and was sent to calls via an email system that
could not be monitored on the police radio frequencies, Szu said.
Szu contended that Hallstein has “a strange fixation” with police officers. The
attorney told the jury that on one occasion a Hermosa police sergeant was
chasing some carjacking suspects on foot, when he turned to see Hallstein
running alongside him.
Beck said that as a locksmith Hallstein often winds up in the same place as
police officers, and in addition Hallstein monitors the radio frequencies and
shows up at scenes of police activity to exercise his right to keep an eye on
government operations. “He’s a watchdog,” Beck told the jury. Hallstein does
not interfere with officers and they are used to his presence, Beck said. “They
know Frank Hallstein is a police groupie,” Beck said.
On the stalking front, Beck said it was Bohacik who followed the locksmith
around, and the officer was told repeatedly by police superiors to avoid
Hallstein and his wife. “Who’s stalking who?” Beck asked the jury. “I’m making
an appointment with my doctor to see if maybe I’m dyslexic, because every time
I’m supposed to be stalking this guy he’s following me,” Hallstein said.
‘Not over’
Beck said that an appeal of the jury verdict is possible. “It’s not over,”
Hallstein said. ER
The Daily Breeze – December 15, 2004
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Jurors hear closing in Hermosa carjack case
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The jury must now consider the roles each of the four men on trial had when they were arrested for the alleged armed car robbery of a disc jockey.
Jurors on Monday began sorting out the roles four young men took in a Hermosa Beach armed carjacking and the two high-speed police pursuits that followed. During closing arguments in the case before the jury began deliberations, one defense attorney told the jury his client did take the car in a carjacking, but said there was no evidence he used a gun to do it.
The others' attorneys argued their clients were not in on the crime, with one attorney adding that his client's only wrongdoing was getting "in a car with a den of thieves."
But Deputy District Attorney Warren Kato argued that even though only one used a gun in a dark parking lot to carjack a disc jockey, the evidence shows all of them were involved. "You better believe every one of them is there to back each other up," Kato told the Torrance Superior Court jury Thursday.
Trial before Judge William R. Hollingsworth Jr. began Dec. 1. All four are facing charges for the armed carjacking. Marcus Ramsey, 23, who allegedly used the gun, is also accused of evading police for leading officers on a chase in the stolen Chevrolet Tahoe, as is William Leander Jones, 22, who led police in a pursuit in a Mercedes-Benz that had been stolen in Beverly Hills two weeks before.
Mark Pacheco, a disc jockey at the Dragon, testified that Ramsey approached him as he was loading equipment into his Tahoe about 2:30 a.m. on July 29. Ramsey demanded Pacheco give over his keys or he was "gonna (expletive) you up," Pacheco testified.
Then Ramsey allegedly pointed a gun at his chest. Just then, a Hermosa Beach police officer drove up and Pacheco yelled to him.
Jones drove off in the Mercedes, leading the officer on a high-speed pursuit that took them the wrong way down one-way streets, The Strand and onto the beach, according to the officer's testimony.
After nearly hitting a sleeping transient, the car became stuck in the sand. Danuyel Ezikiel Bryant, 23, ran from the car toward the water, where an officer said he saw him heave something into the ocean before giving up. Although nothing was found, the prosecution wanted the jury to infer that Bryant tossed the gun into the water.
Jones and Tyrone Ramsey, 24, Marcus Ramsey's cousin, were arrested inside the car. Tyrone Ramsey was the only defendant who testified. He denied that the crime was planned and said he was drunk and only remembers discussing women, not cars.
Tyrone Ramsey said they went to Sharkeez on Pier Avenue and were looking for an after-hours club when his cousin got out of the Mercedes to talk to someone. His attorney, Andrew Edward Smyth, reminded the jury that his client works for the U.S. Postal Service and doesn't need to steal for his money. Tyrone Ramsey just wanted to "walk on the wild side" and ended up in the car "with a den of thieves," Smyth added, causing the other defense attorneys to object.
Jones' attorney, Alternate Deputy Public Defender Jabe Kahnke, said there is no question his client evaded police, but said it doesn't amount to a felony because there wasn't any proof he put anyone in harm's way.
Kahnke also argued there was evidence that the carjacking was not planned because Jones and the other men knew that the area around Sharkeez at that time of night has extra police patrols "to keep a lid on bar fights and drunk drivers."
Bryant is also charged with robbing, carjacking and kidnapping the woman who owns the Mercedes on July 16 in her Beverly Hills garage. The woman told the jury he ordered her out of the car at gunpoint and, despite her pleas to stay outside, took her back into her house and stole $600 and some jewelry, according to Kato.
The woman identified Bryant in court as the man who stole from her, Kato reminded the jury. But Bryant's attorney, Nancy Sperber, said there were alternative explanations for some of the evidence.
For instance, there is no proof Bryant tossed anything to the ocean, and said the gesture could have been more of an "Oh, shucks." Like when someone is trying to run away on the beach, they reach water "and realize they can't swim to China," Sperber explained.
Sperber also argued that the identification of Bryant as the perpetrator of the Beverly Hills crimes was shaky, especially because the victim didn't notice a pronounced scar and tattoos on Bryant's neck. In addition, she argued that there was only one crime -- a continuous robbery -- not three separate crimes.
Marcus Ramsey, who was spotted at Sepulveda Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue in Pacheco's Tahoe minutes after the carjacking, led police through stop signs at speeds sometimes reaching 90 mph before an officer used his patrol car to ram the SUV on Century Boulevard near Denker Avenue. Officers pulled Ramsey from the car and a gun was found under the front passenger seat, an officer testified.
Marcus Ramsey's attorney, Simon Aval, conceded that his client carjacked the Tahoe, but argued there was no evidence he used a gun. Aval told the jury it would be difficult for his client to stash the weapon under the passenger's seat while driving so fast, and added it would be more reasonable to believe he would have thrown it out the window if he had one.
"Where did it come from?" Aval asked of the gun. "I don't know." |
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The Daily Breeze – December 2, 2004
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Trial under way for 4 men in HB carjacking case
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Disc jockey tells jury he was confronted by a man with a gun.
Trial began Wednesday for four men who led police in two different pursuits following an armed carjacking in Hermosa Beach. Mark Pacheco, a disc jockey at the Dragon on Pier Avenue, told the Torrance Superior Court jury he left work just before 2:30 a.m. July 29 and was confronted by a man with a gun at his Chevrolet Tahoe parked in a lot north of the plaza. Pacheco identified Marcus Ramsey, 23, as the man who exited a Mercedes-Benz, reached into his baggy pants and pulled out a gun. Pacheco said he felt metal on his chest and "looked down enough to realize there was a gun." He took a step back and handed Ramsey his keys. Just then, a Hermosa Beach police officer drove into the lot. Officer Michael Frilot testified he pulled into the parking lot and saw what looked like an altercation. As he drove closer, one of them yelled to him, "Someone just pointed a gun at me," and motioned toward the SUV as it drove away, Frilot said. The man also pointed to the Mercedes-Benz parked next to Frilot's patrol car and yelled, "And those guys, too." Frilot said he saw three young men in the Mercedes look at him. The Mercedes went in reverse, almost hitting the patrol car, and sped through the parking lot before turning west on 13th Street, which is one-way in the opposite direction. With lights and sirens on, Frilot said he followed the Mercedes as it traveled 40 to 50 mph on 13th Street, several residential streets and The Strand, where speeds reached 60 to 70 mph. The Strand, which is meant for pedestrians and bicycles, usually has people walking home from the bars that time of night, Frilot said. The only person he said he saw was a transient sleeping in the sand a foot or two away from where the Mercedes drove on to the beach just north of 11th Street. When the Mercedes stopped, the front passenger door opened and a man later identified as Danuyel Ezikiel Bryant, 23, ran under the Hermosa Beach Pier until he was knee-deep in the ocean, Frilot said. Bryant appeared to "lob" something into the water, Frilot said, which police believed was a gun, although no weapon was ever recovered. Bryant then put his hands up and said, "I give up," Frilot said. Also arrested in the Mercedes were William Leander Jones, 22, and Tyrone Maurice Ramsey, who is Marcus Ramsey's 24-year-old brother. About 10 minutes later, Manhattan Beach police officers spotted the Chevy Tahoe at Rosecrans Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard waiting at a red light with its headlights off. Officer Kristopher Thompson said he tried to pull over the SUV, but it continued on to Aviation Boulevard, where it turned left and accelerated to 80 to 90 mph, blowing through red lights, until it reached Century Boulevard. Thompson bumped the back of the SUV near Denker Avenue and the Tahoe spun out allowing officers to pull Ramsey from the driver's seat, Thompson said. A gun was found under the seat, Thompson said. Officers brought Pacheco to where the pursuit ended and, when he saw Ramsey, told Thompson: "That's the (expletive) that jacked me," Thompson said during questioning by Deputy District Attorney Warren Kato. All four men are on trial before Judge William R. Hollingsworth Jr. on carjacking charges. Ramsey is facing additional charges that he used a firearm while the others are accused of participating in a crime in which a firearm was used. In addition, Ramsey and Jones are charged with evading a police officer. During the trial, which is expected to last until next week, the jury will also hear evidence that the Mercedes was stolen July 16 in Beverly Hills. Bryant, who has prior convictions, is charged with carjacking and kidnapping for that crime. |
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The Daily Breeze – November 23, 2004
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Suspected gang members arrested in HB carjacking
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Two Lawndale teenagers took a sport utility vehicle from a frightened couple at knifepoint and crashed into another vehicle in a botched scramble to escape, Hermosa Beach police said Monday. Emmanuel Gerardo, 18, and a 17-year-old boy, both suspected gang members, were taken into custody following a struggle with police officers. A knife was recovered, Hermosa Beach police Sgt. Paul Wolcott said. The carjacking Sunday afternoon occurred moments after the pair failed in an attempt to steal another man's car, Wolcott said. Shortly before 5 p.m., a Hermosa Beach man driving his car into the alley in the 100 block of Palm Drive saw the teens in a friend's garage. "He knew that the two didn't belong there," Wolcott said. The man confronted the teens and called police on his cellular telephone, but immediately sped away when the 17-year-old walked up to him and pulled a knife. The teens ran to Hermosa Avenue at Herondo Street, where they confronted a 33-year-old man and 30-year-old woman who had just entered their parked car. "One of the suspects produced a knife and the other told the victims that he had a gun," Wolcott said. "They demanded that the victims get out of the 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe. Fearing for their lives, the victims complied." The carjackers sped north in the Tahoe on Hermosa Avenue. Meanwhile, the first man was still on the telephone with police and arrived to find the second carjacking victims, Wolcott said. The teens raced at high speed and made their way to southbound Valley Drive, where they ran a stop sign at Second Street, crashed into an eastbound Mercedes-Benz, and veered onto the greenbelt. The teens ran from the disabled Tahoe through an apartment complex to Pacific Coast Highway and First Street. Witnesses to the crash followed them and directed officers where to find them. Gerardo and the 17-year-old, whose name was not released because of his age, struggled with officers but were taken into custody. Officers recovered the knife but no gun was located. Police arrested the pair on suspicion of carjacking, attempted carjacking, trespassing, hit and run and armed robbery. Gerardo was held on $100,000 bail at the Hermosa Beach jail. The juvenile was taken to Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, where he also was held on $100,000 bail. "The suspects have gang affiliations and extensive criminal backgrounds, including arrests for grand theft auto," Wolcott said. |
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The Beach Reporter – November 25, 2004
Hermosa Beach News
Two nabbed in carjackings (11/25)
By Whitney Youngs
Hermosa Beach Police Monday arrested two teenagers for reportedly carjacking two local residents at knifepoint near the corner of Hermosa Avenue and Herondo Street. Officers arrested and charged 18-year-old Emmanuel Gerardo of Lawndale and an unidentified 17-year-old juvenile also from Lawndale, for carjacking, attempted carjacking, trespassing, felony hit and run, and armed robbery.
According to Press Information Officer Sgt. Paul Wolcott, a Hermosa Beach resident drove his car down an alley in the 100 block of Palm Drive at about 4:55 p.m. Monday afternoon. He noticed the two suspects standing in a friend's garage and felt they didn't belong there. "The Hermosan confronted the two suspects about their business in the garage," stated Wolcott. "Concurrent with his contacting the suspects, the Hermosan called police on his cell phone. The juvenile suspect approached the Hermosan and produced a knife. In fear for his life, the victim immediately fled from the suspects."
The two men then traveled to the scene of the second carjacking where they approached two other victims - a 33-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman - both of Hermosa Beach. The two victims were getting into a parked car when the suspect approached them. "One of the suspects produced a knife and the other told the victims that he had a gun," explained Wolcott. "They demanded that the victims get out of the 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe. In fear for their lives, the victims complied with the suspect's demand."
The two suspects drove north on Hermosa Avenue. It was at this time that the first victim drove up and found the second victims near the corner of Herondo Street and Hermosa Avenue. "The first victim was still on the telephone with police dispatchers," stated Wolcott. "The additional information of the second carjacking was given to police dispatchers."
The two suspects eventually made their way onto Valley Drive heading south at what police describe at a high rate of speed. The suspect who was driving the car ran the stop sign at Second Street and crashed into a Mercedes Benz, which was traveling east on Second Street. After the crash, the suspects were unable to drive the SUV, which ended up on the Greenbelt, and fled the scene.
"The Mercedes driver ended up in the hospital with injuries," reported Wolcott. "The two suspects ran away through an apartment complex and ended up in the area of Pacific Coast Highway at First Street. Witnesses to the crash followed the suspects and directed responding officers to their location."
Following a brief struggle with officers, the suspects were handcuffed and taken into custody. Police never found a gun but did recover a knife that they believe was used in both carjackings. According to Wolcott, the suspects have associations with gangs and both have extensive criminal backgrounds that include arrests for grand theft auto. Both suspects are being held on $100,000 bail.
The Daily Breeze – November 8, 2004
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DEA officer injured in Hermosa Beach hit-run
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The agent rolled onto the car's windshield after the impact and injured his head and had deep cuts to his back.
An off-duty undercover Drug Enforcement Agency officer was hit by a car that sped off early Saturday in Hermosa Beach, officials said. The agent was crossing the street at Gould Avenue and Valley Drive about 2 a.m. when a compact car driving west on Gould ran through two stoplights, said DEA spokesman Jose Martinez. The agent tried to avoid the car, but it hit him. The agent rolled onto the car's windshield after the impact and injured his head and had deep cuts to his back, Martinez said. The agent did not require hospitalization, but will be off work for at least a month, he said. The car was dark blue or black, possibly a Honda, with damage to the windshield, Martinez said. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hermosa Beach Police Department at 310-318-0360 or the DEA at 213-621-6714. |
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The Daily Breeze – November 5, 2004
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Man who filmed girls in Hermosa to be tried
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Hermosa Police arrested convicted molester Robert Romo and found videotapes of the children in his possession.
A convicted child molester will stand trial for secretly videotaping the buttocks and crotches of little girls playing in the sand in Hermosa Beach and Long Beach, a judge ruled Thursday. Based on the testimony of two Hermosa Beach police officers who arrested and investigated Robert Edward Romo, 44, Torrance Superior Court Judge Francis J. Hourigan said there is enough evidence to hold Romo on three charges of child molesting with a prior conviction. Romo's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Richard Kim, argued during the preliminary hearing that the case should be dismissed because his client did nothing more than view people through the lens of a video camera. Kim rhetorically asked Hourigan if someone could be charged and convicted for just standing on the beach watching girls. "If that's correct, then I would suggest we need to arrest a lot of people at the beach," Kim quipped. But Deputy District Attorney Jodi Link cited California law outlining the elements of child molesting, which include that the perpetrator is motivated by unnatural or abnormal sexual interest. Hourigan ordered that Romo continue to be held in jail without bail and set a Nov. 17 date for his arraignment. A portion of the videotape, which Hourigan did not watch, shows a little girl in a blue bathing suit playing in the sand, the waves breaking behind her. She is one of four girls depicted in the videotape found inside the videocamera that Romo was carrying when he was arrested Aug. 15 for public intoxication, according to officer Eric Cahalan. Cahalan said cardboard and a shirt were adhered to the camera by black tape. Sgt. Steve Endom testified that the video is an hour and a half long, and about a third of it focuses on the unknown girls' crotches and buttocks. "They're all under the age of 10, easily," Endom said. "Anytime a subject is in the picture, that subject was a little girl," Endom added. The day after his arrest, Romo told Endom that he found the videocamera and tapes in the trash, and concealed it when he admittedly taped the girls' private areas because he did not want to offend them or be caught by their parents, Endom testified. Romo said he was videotaping the girls for art studies, adding that he could not obtain pictures of their buttocks any other way, Endom said. During a search of Romo's Long Beach home, more tapes were found, but no art supplies, Endom said. Endom said he seized seven videotapes, and has since reviewed most of them -- which all feature girls' buttocks and crotches. Romo was convicted in 1999 for secretly videotaping up the skirts of girls and women at Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance. He walked around with the lens pointed up and a sweater concealing the camera, according to police. |
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From: The Hermosa Beach City Council Meeting of May 25, 2004
May 20, 2004
Honorable Mayor and Members of The Hermosa Beach City Council
Regular meeting of May 25, 2004
RECOMMENDATION TO DENY
DANCING
AT TJ CHARLYZ (1332 HERMOSA AVENUE)
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council:
1. Make a recommendation to the Department of the Alcoholic Beverage Control to reject the application by TJ Charlyz Nightclub and Restaurant to change their existing alcohol license to allow dancing in their establishment.
BACKGROUND
TJ Charlyz Nightclub and Restaurant at 1332 Hermosa Avenue was issued a type 47alcohol license by the ABC in December of 1996. One of the conditions of the license (condition #5) was no dancing allowed on the premises. Recently, officials of the ABC working with members of the Hermosa Beach Police Department observed that TJ Charlyz was allowing dancing in their establishment. The owner, Mr. Steve Dahdah, was advised by the ABC of the violation of this condition. During April of 2004, Mr. Dahdah applied to the ABC to modify his alcohol license to allow dancing in his establishment. The ABC has formally notified the City of this request to change the license and the City has the opportunity to file a written objection to the modification of this license if it so desires. The Police Department objects to the change in Mr. Dahdah’s alcohol license.
ANALYSIS
The Police Department has become very concerned with the operations of the nightclub TJ Charlyz. Long before the police department became aware that TJ Charlyz was prohibited from having dancing, our officers have become very concerned about the rowdy behavior at this business. Officers have encountered a number of confrontational patrons. As a result our police officers have had to d