S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY smmirror.com
August 2 – 8, 2019 Volume XXII, Issue 2
INSIDE
SMa.r.t. Column: Airbnb Hotel? PAGES 6-7
Man Charged for Sexual Assaults, Rape, Robberies Fernando Venancio Jr. held without bail By S taff W riter The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office – Airport Branch has filed charges on Fernando Venancio Jr., a 43-year-old male from Lynwood CA., for his involvement in a series of robberies and sexual assaults that occurred in Santa Monica. On July 22, 2019 at about 4:16 p.m., officers from the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) responded to a radio call for service at the 800 block of 18th Street regarding an unknown trouble in which a struggle could be heard over an open 9-1-
1 call. When officers arrived, they spoke with the victim of a robbery and an attempt sexual assault. Following a search for the suspect, officers located the suspect at the 900 block of 19th Street. The suspect was taken into police custody and booked at SMPD Jail. Following a preliminary investigation, SMPD Detectives have been able to link Venancio to two other incidents: On June 6, 2019 a sexual assault occurred at the 800 block of 18th Street. On July 18, 2019 a sexual assault and robbery occurred in the area of 17th Street and Santa Monica Blvd Venancio has been charged with 2 counts of 261(a)(2) PC Forcible Rape; 289(a)(1) PC Digital Penetration with Force; 2 counts of 211 PC Robbery; and 220(a)(1) PC As-
sault with intent to Commit Rape. Venancio remains in custody pending future court proceedings with no bail options.
Anyone with any information related to these incidents or any other similar incident is encouraged to contact Detective Murphy at 310-458-8941; Detective Carrillo 310-458-8983; or Sergeant Art Williams at 310-458-8475.
Photo: Santa Monica Police Department.
RIGHT – Fernando Venancio Jr., a 43-year-old male from Lynwood CA., was charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office – Airport Branch for his involvement in a series of robberies and sexual assaults that occurred in Santa Monica.
Overnight Vehicle Dwelling Ban Renewed
LA City Council reinstates Section 85.02 of municipal code By Sam Catanzaro
It is again illegal to sleep in a car on the streets of Los Angeles. On Tuesday, July 30, LA City Council reinstated Section 85.02 of LA Municipal Code which prohibits individuals from using a vehicle for dwelling between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. on residential streets and any time within 500 feet of a park or a licensed school, pre-school or daycare facility. On July 1, City Council let the ban expire before they went to recess, unintentionally giving people living in their cars a grace period. At the City Council meeting Tuesday a heated public hearing took place on the issue, with an overwhelming number of people speaking out against renewing the ban. “We can sleep in ditches but we cannot sleep in our cars. There has to be a way that we can all work together. That there could be designated for the less fortunate to sleep in their cars while they get on their feet,” said Jose Garcia a veteran who was previously homeless for five years. “Not every homeless person is bad. And everybody deserves a second chance.” Peggy Lee Kennedy, a member of the Venice
Justice Committee, worried that renewing the ban would harm individuals who have the least in society, “The City likes to think of itself as somehow doing this balancing act to protect the people that are housed by criminalizing and harming those who are not. That’s not a balance. You’re harming people that have the least amount among us,” Kennedy said. “Don’t just work with private developers doing long term efforts and over-the-top bridge housing efforts, that are going to house ten percent or less of the people.” Mary Anne Curtis of the End Homelessness LA Campaign took issue with the difference in the way the fact that the City lets e-scooters park on the street but not unhoused individuals. “Thousands of electric scooters are given priority parking on streets that people unhoused are being swept off,” Curtis said. “980 plus have died this past year and your response is to ban them from street parking?” Despite the overriding public support against renewing the ban, City Council voted unanimously to reinstate Section 85.02 of the code, making the overnight dwelling in vehicles illegal immediately. After Council voted, members of the public began chanting “shame on you” repeatedly, forcing City Council President Pro Tem Nury Martinez to instruct the Los Angeles Police Department to remove the protestors. Councilmember Mike Bonin, who represents
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Council District 11 which includes Venice, was not present for the vote. In an email to the Santa Monica Mirror, however, Bonin said that he was unable to attend the Council meeting due to a medical issue but would have opposed the renewing of the ban, citing lack of progress with The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s (LAHSA) Safe Parking Program, “I would have voted against reinstatement of the ban on people living in vehicles. When the council revised 85.02 a few years ago, it was a temporary measure with a sunset provision, outlining where people could reside In their vehicles and where they couldn’t, while the city crafted a safe parking program. We have repeatedly extended the sunset while the city and
TAX
LAHSA have lagged in creating safe parking for the thousands of people living in their cars,” Bonin said. “We need to be moving people out of homelessness – not into homelessness. If we tell people with no homes that they cannot live in their cars, they are going to wind up on the sidewalks in our neighborhoods, and get locked further into homelessness, becoming harder and more costly to help. It will set us back even further in combating homelessness.” In his statement, Bonin called on the city to dramatically expand safe parking programs and offer people a secure and legal place to park with a pathway to services and housing.
OVERNIGHT, see page 3
Samuel Moses, CPA 100 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica
310.395.9922