FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 2012
Volume 11 Issue 236
Santa Monica Daily Press
RACING AROUND TOWN SEE PAGE 4
We have you covered
THE POPPING UP ISSUE
Cops make arrest in cold case murders BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY Officers in the Santa Monica Police Department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit arrested a man Wednesday whom they believe is responsible for the murders of two women more than 10 years ago.
Edric Dashell Gross, 46, was taken into custody by investigators as he was sitting in Pan Pacific Park in Los Angeles. Investigators believe that Gross killed Jacqueline Lee Ovsak, 42, and Dana Caper, 41. Ovsak’s body was discovered by construction workers in an abandoned building on the 1500 block of Seventh Street on April 3,
2001. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Caper was found over a year later on Oct. 29, 2002 on the bluffs near the 800 block of Palisades Park. Caper, a transient, had been living on the bluffs. Police discovered that she, too, had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Both homicides were investigated until
leads ran out and the cases went cold, said Sgt. Richard Lewis, SMPD spokesman. In September 2007, investigators in GROSS the cold case unit SEE ARREST PAGE 11
New group forms to curb development BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
CITYWIDE In a town known for its often exuberant degree of public participation, another group has appeared on the scene with an aim to influence the style of development in Santa Monica. Santa Monicans for Responsible Growth (SMRG) is a new coalition of approximately SEE GROUP PAGE 12
Jury says Shangri-La owner discriminated against Jewish guests ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo courtesy Julie Ellerton
GETTING READY: Engineer John Steindlberger hooks up a hose to a fire hydrant after a long day of emergency calls recently.
SM COURTHOUSE A Muslim hotel owner discriminated against a Jewish group during a poolside charity event at the Shangri-La by ordering removal of banners and ousting them from the pool and spa, a jury decided in awarding $1.2 million statutory damages. Punitive damages will be determined later. The suit was filed by Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, whose members had gathered two years ago at the Ocean Avenue SEE RULING PAGE 10
Malibu fire officials brace for brush fire season BY ELANO PIZZICAROLA Special to the Daily Press
MALIBU The Los Angeles County Fire Department and Malibu emergency officials vow they are prepared for any potential trouble as the fall brush fire season looms. The county fire department will brace for potential fires by moving extra resources
to Malibu in the event of high temperatures and low humidity, striving to bolster firefighting capabilities. City emergency officials are also touting a number of methods to alert the public in case of danger. A red flag warning arises when humidity falls below 15 percent and sustained winds gust over 25 miles per hour, usually prompting the fire department to send
what they call a “strike team” to Malibu, and another to Agoura Hills. “We work very closely with the National Weather Service. We monitor weather patterns,” said Maria Grycan, who serves as community services liaison at the Carbon Canyon fire station. SEE FIRES PAGE 10
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