Attorney General Rob Bonta and Penal Code 368
Company: East County Magazine
Location: Lemon Grove
Posted on: May 28, 2023
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Photo: California Attorney General Rob Bonta September 27, 2022
(El Cajon) - California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a warning
letter to El Cajon's Mayor and City Council on Sept. 23 demanding
that the city rescind warning notices sent to hotels housing
homeless individuals under the County of San Diego's voucher
program. Bonta letters calls the County's program "unquestionably
legal" and claims the city's notices constitute unlawful
discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, which
prohibits housing discrimination based on income source. Last week,
the city of El Cajon sent warning notices to seven of the eight
hotels/motels participating in the County of San Diego's voucher
program to temporarily house homeless people. The city warned that
the motels were violating a city law that limits hotels to a
maximum 25% of capacity for homeless people in the voucher program.
The city notified the hotels that they would be fined up to $1,000
a day if they did not comply. The city noticed an increase in drug
dealing and drug use around the motels, then learned that the
County had placed homeless people from across the region into the
motels through the voucher program. The city had its officers
inquire where new homeless people were from and made multiple
arrests for drug dealing among people in the voucher program. The
city also revealed that some with county vouchers were convicted
criminals, including one who was a wanted felon and a felon with a
gun. The city has vocally objected to having homeless people from
outside the city placed in its motels, as well as to having drug
dealers and criminals allowed vouchers while the county has refused
to provide any help with security or added law enforcement. It is
unclear whether Bonta knew those circumstances. However, in his
letter, Bonta stated, "The City of El Cajon's recent actions
threaten to turn some of San Diego County's most vulnerable
residents out onto the street based solely on their source of
income," Bonta says. "Housing discrimination in any form will not
be tolerated." Bonta demands that the city rescind the warning
notices and refrain from issuing any in the future. He also orders
the city to order its police to stop any "unlawful harassment of
hotel guests" and to agree not to punish hotels that accept
vouchers. The City Council will discuss the County's motel voucher
program and its impact on the community during today's 3 p.m.
Council meeting, and will also discuss during closed section
potential legal action. In a statement issued in response to the
Attorney General's letter, El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells stated, "I
find it interesting that the Attorney General came to conclusions
without even talking to the City. Based on his tweet from September
24th that stated our 'actions threatened to turn the most
vulnerable residents out onto the street based -solely -on -their
-source of income, no more,' -is egregiously false. In the Attorney
General's letter or tweet, there was -no mention -that the County
and its contractor have failed to properly screen participants in
the voucher program, which has resulted in spikes in crime,
increased calls for police and fire service, and increased open
drug usage and sales at and around the participating motels. There
was -also no mention that -the El Cajon Police Department has made
over 20 arrests near or at the participating motels in just the
last ten days. -It is obvious that the Attorney General's office
based its findings on a one-sided argument." Mayor Wells continued,
"It is also interesting that the County relocating homeless from
other parts of the region to El Cajon is in direct violation to the
very code section the Attorney General cites. Did the County also
receive a -letter -from the Attorney General?" David Richards,
Assistant to the City Manager, stated in a press release, "The City
of El Cajon's critique of the County's mismanaged voucher program
is not one that comes from lack of compassion for those who are
without shelter, but from one of public safety and an obligation to
protect the El Cajon community." ECM editor Miriam Raftery sent a
letter to Attorney General Bonta's office noting that El Cajon
funds a homeless shelter and many other programs to help the
homeless; City Manager Graham Mitchell has said the city helped get
over 800 homeless people into permanent housing since early 2020.
The county has no shelters on county-owned land, yet has taken
homeless people from county property and sent more of them to El
Cajon motels than any other community. "Why not force the county to
more equitably distributes its homeless and find a better way to
deal with those who are drug dealers and wanted felons?" Raftery
asked Bonta. "Why isn't the state or county providing any help to
El Cajon to deal with the rising crime problems created by this
program," she further inquired, noting that the county has failed
to build shelters in areas where homeless people are camped along
riverbeds in Lakeside and Spring Valley on county-owned land. She
also questioned by the Attorney General deemed it "harassment" for
police to search for drugs when drug dealing was personally
observed outside the motel by the city manager, who has said he was
threatened by a drug dealer. "Will the AG rescind this misguided
order and instead take action to force the county to be more
equitable in its homeless voucher motel program?" Raftery's letter
concluded. Error messageSupport community news in the public
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alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep
people safe and informed across our region. Comments The San Diego
County Supervisors control a $5 billion budget, and that $5 billion
pays for various social services programs. But on the suffering
homeless in unincorporated areas, which is most of the County
(another problem), apparently they simply dump people in El Cajon
motels, threatening public safety in that struggling city. After
getting push back from the community California Department of
Justice Attorney General backed away from his threat to the City of
El Cajon in regard to the homeless voucher program, and instead
concentrates more on the attached Financial Elder Abuse against
senior citizens under Penal Code 368. See attached here. The link
goes to a housing case elsewhere. If Bonta backed off his threat
against El Cajon, I haven't heard it, and so far he hasn't
responded to my inquiry. Attorney General Rob Bonta is actually
following the law, when he states: "The City's Actions Have an
Unlawful Disparate Impact on Racial Subgroups, People with
Disabilities, the Elderly, and Veterans, in Violation of FEHA."
-This seems to differ with Mayor Bill Wells. It really is all about
follow the law as indicated in Bonta's letter. Nathan Fletcher also
seems to agree with Attorney General General Bonta. It would be
great if you and the Attorney General could get together on an
interview, along with Mayor Bill Wells.I actually have a copy of a
lawsuit by Attorney General Bonta, which is attached here. -This
lawsuit preceeded the attached complaint filed by me with the
California Department of Justice and Rob Bonta. It alleges Felony
Financial Elder Abuse (Penal Code 368). This is an active and
ongoing compaint which you can see here. As the former Associate
Editor and book reviewer with the East County Magazine, and having
written more than 400 book reviews, and having a personal stake in
subject article about the homeless being housed in El Cajon, this
article resonates with me in so many ways.I currently have a
complaint filed with AG Rob Bonta and his California Department of
Justice, dated April 8, 2022, that borders on housing
discrimination and Financial Elder Abuse under Penal Code 368.
Since filing this complaint with the California Department of
Justice I have gone to court against the manager of the Sierra
Retirement Village here in Lancaster, and been successful in her
returning $1,000.00 in a Small Claims case, and secured a Temporary
Restraining Order (TRO) against her son who lives here in this 95
unit complex of senior citizens.Also, since filing my complaint
with the California Department of Justice, I have had mail stolen
from me as indicated in the attached audio recording of the
Lancaster Postmaster. Listen here. I sincerely hope that Attorney
General Rob Bonta will take Miriam Raftery up on her request to
interview him, as there is a lot more to this story that needs to
be revealed.
Keywords: East County Magazine, San Diego , Attorney General Rob Bonta and Penal Code 368, Legal , Lemon Grove, California
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