EL CAMINO COLLEGE SEPT. 20, 2018 Follow us at @ECCUnion
THE UNION eccunion.com
Like us at ElCaminoUnion
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA
Send us an email at eccunion@gmail.com
Gun threats made by student, police say Man arrested on suspicion of leaving violent voicemails, emails Fernando Haro Staff Writer
@ECCUnionFernand
Warning: Story contains profanity and may be offensive to some readers. 43-year-old El Camino College student was arrested Monday, Sept. 10, at his Torrance residence on suspicion of threatening to bring a gun to the campus, authorities said. Police identified the suspect as Ernest John Cranmer, who allegedly sent threatening voicemails and emails to El Camino College employees, according to the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). According to an El Camino College campus advisory sent Friday, Sept. 14 by the El Camino College Police Department, “One particular email indicated that he may come to campus with a gun.” Early Monday morning, the El Camino College Police Department identified the email as Cranmer’s and within 45 minutes of being notified of the threat, the authorities arrived at Cranmer’s
A
Ernest Cranmer, 43, was arrested Monday Sept, 10 on suspicion of threat with a weapon. Photo courtesy of El Camino College Police Department
Mental Health at El Camino Roseana Martinez Staff Writer
M
@ECCUnionRoseana
ental health issues are now a concern to 95 percent of college counseling because their studies show that over the past year the number of students struggling have increased, according to The American Psychological Association. So how does El Camino College deal with mental health issues? Will more students seek assistance or get the help they need on campus? See mental health on page 2
Coca-Cola vending machine located near Activities Center repaired Kevin Caparoso Staff Writer
A
@ECCUnionKC
n on campus Coca-Cola vending machine located outside of the Activities Center was repaired on Friday, Sept. 7. Rubin Sanchez, a 53-year-old Coca-Cola technician replaced the vending machine’s old selector panel display with a new one. The panel display is the plastic screen people look through to view drink options. The old display was yellowed and foggy which might have lead students to assume that the vending machine was not functional said Sanchez. If any vending machine on campus needs attending to, look for a sticker on the top right of the machine that details a contact number, outlet number, and asset number. The contact number for this particular machine outside of The Activities Center and in The Common Grounds area is 1-844566-2653. The outlet number is 601674177 and the asset number is
home, arresting him, police said. Cranmer was booked by Torrance Police Department. El Camino College Chief of Police, Michael Trevis said Cranmer was “apologetic and admitted to those things.” No weapons were found and his bail was set at $50,000. Trevis said this was not the first time Cranmer had made threats toward El Camino College. Trevis added that this was not the first time El Camino Police Department visited Cranmer as they suspected him of leaving “threatening and violent messages” a few years ago. This was not the first time El Camino College received violent threats by a current student. The Union published multiple stories that followed the cases of James Lemus after he threatened to “make it look like (the) Santa Barbara shooting” in 2014 on the Library Lawn. Cranmer was released the following day and is currently under court order to remain within 100 yards of El Camino College and four employees.
Cranmer’s mother, Mayrla Cranmer spoke to Union staff writers when they visited her to ask her about her son. “He is very friendly,” Mayrla Cranmer told The Union. “He is not a person that would do something to somebody.” Ernest Cranmer is diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, a disability which results in impulsive and hyperactive actions, Mayrla Cranmer said. Trevis confirmed that Cranmer has “mental-health issues.” “He has a disability,” Mayrla Cranmer said. “If he was in the right mind, he wouldn’t have said what he did.” Mayrla Cranmer said that doctors do not pay attention to her son and that all they care about is her money. “We’ve been trying to find psychologists,” Mayrla Cranmer said. “With his disability, he can’t control what he says.” Bonnie Mercado, student services technician, was one of the employees who received threats, according to the TRO. Union staff writers attempted to contact
Mercado Monday Sept. 17 but were unable to reach her as she was not in her office, a front desk faculty member who refused to be identified told the Union. “Respondent’s willful course of conduct has no legitimate purpose. I am also fearful that Respondent’s irrational behavior and escalating threats of violence may lead to violence against me other others,” according to Bonnie Mercado in the TRO. The first threat was sent on Saturday, Sept. 8, “The student was not identifiable at that time,” according to the campus advisory. “Hello, how the fuck are you, my name is Ernest Cranmer known as EZ. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the appointment because I was so sick last Friday and I had a bad fucking week last week so I’m coming by to get you all at the college, so feel free to call me at area code … [omitted]. See gun threat on page 2.
Coyote lights installed throughout campus Flashing lights designed to keep wild animals from entering grounds
Quinn Buffandeau Staff Writer
C
@ECCUnionQuinn
oyote lights have been installed around El Camino College recently in an attempt to keep coyotes that are potentially living as near as Alondra Park away from the campus, authorities said. “They’ve turned our residential areas into habitats,” Lieutenant Jeff Leyman, El Segundo Police Department Animal Control section commander said. “A habitat for a dog, a wild dog like that is a place where they can go and get food, water, potentially shelter, if we can remove those things, make it more of a hostile area for them, they won’t come here,” Leyman added.
“They’ve turned our residential areas into habitats,” Lieutenant Jeff Leyman, El Segundo Police Department Animal Control s e c t i o n commander said.
-Jeff Leyman, El Segundo Police Department Animal Control section commander El Camino College Police Chief Michael Trevis said that reports of the coyotes began around the time that the campus advisory regarding coyotes was sent to students, but that he suspects the coyotes have been in the area for much longer. Trevis added that since the beginning of 2018 there have been six
coyote sightings reported on campus. According to the advisory, sent to students on Wednesday, Jan. 31, police responded to a coyote sighting near the Communications building, and saw three coyotes on campus. This is not the first time that coyotes have been seen around Torrance. According to a bulletin sent out by the Torrance Police Department on June 1, 2016, “there have been 148 reports of coyote sightings and attacks on animals” from Jan. 1, 2016 to the day the bulletin was sent out.
The lights installed around campus are produced by Nite Guard. According to the instructions for the system, the lights are solar powered and automatically activate at night, flashing a red light on and off to ward off animals. “Early on when we were getting reports (that) we found a couple of cat remains,” Trevis said, adding that since installing the lights “the police department has not been made aware of any cat remains, so perhaps this device may be working,” but that the police, “don’t have any definite proof one way or the other to say if it works or not.” Leyman also said that coyotes very rarely attack humans, but do pose a danger to pets. “Cats are a food source, so, you know sometimes you’ll see people who are feeding wild cats, and that probably happens at Alondra Park” Leyman said, adding that people feeding wild cats are “just creating a food source for coyotes.” “I would tell you that any creature, any small creature, cats, squirrels, possums, you know they’re small and the coyotes are looking for food, I’m sorry to say that but it’s the truth, you know the squirrels try their best to run, the cats try to run, possums I’m sure do the same thing, we’ve had aviary predators, big black crows come down and try to grab squirrels, we’ve had that here before, it’s just nature’s way,” Trevis said.
A coyote light flashes near the Art Building at night
Trevis also said that the coyotes could be living nearby the campus around Alondra Park or in the Dominguez Channel, between Alondra Park and El Camino College. “They’re probably living in places we just don’t see them during the day, they could be living in the channel, they could be living in the storm drains, you know kind of anywhere out of sight,” Trevis said. Trevis added that officers have seen coyotes in the western part of Lot L early in the morning around 5:30 a.m., Lot L is directly next to the Dominguez Channel. Leyman also said that a coyote’s den could be in a small area, adding that ravines and reservoirs could make coyote dens, and that a coyote
will go between one and two miles from a den for food.
“Early on when we were getting reports (that) we found a couple of cat remains” -El Camino Chief of Police Michael Trevis “If people want coyotes out of their neighborhoods, they’ve got to be picking up their trash, bird feeders for example, birdseed falls on the ground, it attracts rats, that
Mari Inagaki/ Union attracts coyotes,” Leyman said, adding that attempts should be made to turn the neighborhood into a hostile environment. According to Leyman’s notes on coyotes, people encountering coyotes should respond aggressively, doing things such as yelling, waving their arms, and not running from the animal. Leyman added that “the air-horn is good for coyotes,” and to “haze them.” Trevis said that “unless they’re posing a threat or being aggressive to a human being or to another animal just try your best to leave them alone, and if they’re looking at you yell scream do those things to keep them away from you, but call us, we can respond to things.”