HomeMy WebLinkAbout18- City Attorney CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO - REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION
From: Huston T. Carlyle, Jr. Subject: Loma Linda Towing Appeal of Police Commission's
Decision to Terminate Towing Agreement
Dept: City Attorney
Date: April 24, 1996 0,n1#A-It 1A I
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Synopsis of Previous Council action:
None
Recommended motion:
Make motion to deny appeal of Loma Linda Towing, affirm Findings of Fact and Statement of Decision of
the Police Commission to terminate towing services between the City of San Bernardino and Loma Linda Towing.
Signat e
Contact person: Huston T. Carlyle, Jr. Phone: 5355
Supporting data attached: Yes Ward:
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: N/A
Source: (Acct. No.)
(Acct. Description)
Finance:
Council Notes:
75-0262 Agenda Item No.
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO --- REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION
STAFF REPORT
On March 19, 1996 , a letter was hand delivered to Loma Linda Towing
setting forth five breaches of conditions contained in the Agreement for Tow
Services between the City of San Bernardino and Loma Linda Towing. On March
20th, Loma Linda Towing filed an appeal and requested a pre-termination
hearing before the Police Commission.
On April 8, 1996, the Police Commission conducted a pre-termination
hearing on the appeal filed by Loma Linda Towing and unanimously (7-0) voted
to terminate said Agreement with Loma Linda Towing. The Findings of Fact and
Statement of Decision dated April 11, 1996, set forth the Commission' s
conclusions and the reasons therefor.
Attached to this staff report is the appropriate backup documentation to
assist the Council in deciding the appeal before it .
rrNWNWAW rw +r
--------------------- ------- FOR OFFICE USE ONLY -------- --------------------
Departments Receiving Date/Time Stamp:
Copies:
NARp��o RFiy-
SPA 'Y
Original to:
- '9b F° 18 P 2 :46
a` Payment Information:
Date of Distribution: �OGVDED LN
Last Updated: 3/26/96
Account 001-000-4303
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO - NOTICE OF APPEAL
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Pursuant to Council Action, all Mayor and Common Council
appeals must be filed in the City Clerk's Office accompanied by the appropriate fee.
Complete All Information
Appellant Name
& Address: MMA =A `DING (1EO WENZEL/MARIO GOMEZ)
1915 S. Tippecanoe Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92408
Contact Person
& Address: ANbC GREYSON, ESQ. , BRUNICK, ALVAREZ & BAZTERSBY
P.O. Box 6425, San Bernardino, CA 92412
Contact Person Phone
Number: Day: (909) 889-8301 Evening: Scene
Affected Property-
Address & APN # 1915 S. Tippecanoe Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92408
Type of Appeal - Check One:
Appeal to the Mayor & Common Council: X Appeals to Other Legislative Bodies:
(*Adjusted Annually)
Planning Commission ($122.00 *) — Board of Building Commissioners (No Charge)
Building Abatement ($75.00) Police Commission (No Charge)
Weed Abatement ($75.00) Access Appeals Board (No Charge)
Vehicle Abatement ($75.00) Other/Explain: (No Char gel
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A VALID APPEAL MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION SBMC 2,
( 64):
1. The specific action appealed, and date of that action:_ Findings of Fact and State-
ment of Decision of Police Commission of the City of San Bernardino, dated April
11, 1996. (Termination of Agreement for.=Taa Services Agreement) .
2. The specific grounds of appeal:_ (A) Violation of Agreement for tow services
dated 07/27/95; (B) ViolationcE City Resolution No. 95-241; (C) Appellant was
denied the opportunity to make a full and complete presentation to the Police
Commission; (D) New evidence is now available that was not available cit the
time of the action of the Police Commission; (E) the Police Catmission's
decision was arbitrary and capricious because inadequate evidence was presented
to the Commission to support its decision.
3. The actions(s) sought from the legislative body: (A) Grant appeal and schedule
appeal hearing; (B) Reversal of Police Commission decision to terminate Tow Service
Agreement; Confirmation that Tow Service Agreement is in full force and effect;
or (C) Reversal of Ca mission Decision and remand with order for development of fair
and equitable procedures for conduct of pre-ten-nination hearing and full re-
hearing before Police Commission.
4. Any additional information: pPe llant requests that the Mayor and Con min Coluncil
review the transcript of the Commission's April 8, 1996 meeting; and the Findings
of Fact and Statement of Decision dated April 11, 1996. Appellant reserves the
right to submit evidence of the basis for appeal.
Signature of A ellant:
t
Date: April 18, 1996
T.T7n DTFNT TFT
A VALID APPEAL MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION (SBMC 2.64):
1. The specific action appealed, and date of that action:__ Findings of Fact and State-
ment of Decision of Police Commission of the City of San Bernardino, dated April
11, 1996. (Termination of Agreement for..-Taa* Services-Agreement) -
2. The specific grounds of appeal: (A) Violation of Agreement for tow services
dated 07/27/95; (B) Violationcf City Resolution No. 95-241; (C) Appellant was
denied the opportunity to make a full and complete presentation to the Police
Ccamtission; (D) New evidence is now available fiat was not available -it the
time of the action of the Police Commission; (E) the Police C rni.ssion's
decision was arbitrary and capricious because inadequate evidence was presented
to the Commission to support its decision.
3. The actions(s) sought from the legislative body: (A) 'Grant appeal and schedule
appeal hearing; (B) Reversal of Police Commission decision to terminate Tow Service
Agreement'; Confirmation that Tow Service Agreement is in full force and effect;
or (C) Reversal of Commission Decision and remand with order for development of fair
and equitable procedures for conduct of pre-termination hearing and full re-
hearing before Police Commiss A. ant requests that the Ma
4. Any additional information: Mayor and Ct�mmn Council
review the transcript of the Commission's April 8, 1996 meeting; and the Findings
of Fact and Statement of Decision dated April 11, 1996. Appellant reserves the
right to submit evidence of the basis for appeal.
Signature of A llant:
i
Date: April 18, 1996
LEO VENZEL
1
BEFORE THE POLICE COMMISSION
2 OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO
3
In the Matter of the Hearing of ) FINDINGS OF FACT
4 ) AND STATEMENT OF
MARIO GOMEZ AND LEO WENZEL ) DECISION; NOTICE
5 (Doing Business as Loma Linda Towing) ) OF RIGHT TO APPEAL
6
7 The above-captioned matter concerning the termination of the agreement with LOMA
8 LINDA TOWING to provide towing services to the City of San Bernardino came on for hearing
9 on April 8, 1996 at 6:30 p.m., before the Police Commission of the City of San Bernardino in
10 the Council Chambers of the City at 300 North "D" Street, San Bernardino, California 92418.
11 LEO WENZEL representing Loma Linda Towing was present and was represented by
12 JOHN LIGHTBURN throughout the hearing. The City was represented by Senior Assistant City
13 Attorney, HUSTON T. CARLYLE, Jr. A quorum of the Police Commissioners were present
14 throughout the hearing. The Police Commission heard the testimony and examined the proofs
15 offered by the parties. The Civil Service Board being fully advised, makes its Findings of Fact
16 and Statement of Decision as follows:
17 FINDINGS OF FACT
18 1. On July 10, 1995, the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San
19 Bernardino adopted Resolution No. 95-241 establishing standard criteria for tow companies to
20 provide tow services for the City of San Bernardino.
21 2. On July 27, 1995, pursuant to Resolution No. 95-241, the City entered into an
22 Agreement for Tow Services with Loma Linda Towing.
23 3. Among other things said agreement provided that Loma Linda Towing (a) have
24 a minimum storage space for 200 vehicles with a minimum of twelve inside spaces, (b) store
25 towed vehicles in safe and protected space where the vehicles and their contents will not be
26 accessible to thieves and vandals, (c) have adequate equipment to handle calls from the City, (d)
27 collect all towing or hauling and storage charges from the owner and not from the City, (e)
28 comply with all rules, regulations and laws of the state, county and City, and (f) provide notice
DAB/tbm [LomaLind.Fdgl -1-
1 to the owner of the imposition of charges for towing, storage and related services.
2 4. The agreement provides that the City may terminate the agreement upon thirty
3 days written notice to Loma Linda, which notice shall provide Loma Linda with the right to a
4 pretermination hearing before the Police Commission.
5 5. At its place of business Loma Linda has a maximum storage space for
6 approximately 100 vehicles, with a maximum inside storage space for 4 vehicles.
7 6. On or about December 11, 1995, four tires and customized chrome spoked rims
8 of a 1982 Oldsmobile were stolen while said vehicle was in storage and under the control of
9 Loma Linda Towing.
10 7. When the owner of the vehicle inquired about the rims she was informed that
11 they were removed for safe keeping.
12 8. When the owner of the vehicle attempted to retrieve her vehicle, Loma Linda
13 attempted to provide her replacement rims and tires from another vehicle wit4out so informing
14 her.
15 1 9. When called to provide tows Loma Linda has indicated that they will respond
16 within 20 minutes.
17 10. A timely response is important to clear the street of vehicles which may be
18 obstructing traffic, and to relieve the police officers who must remain on the scene until the
19 towed vehicle is removed.
20 1 10. On January 31, 1996, at the 700 block of San Anselmo, it took Loma Linda 47
21 minutes to respond.
22 11. On February 3, 1996, at Kendall and Little Mountain it took Loma Linda 30
23 minutes to respond.
24 12. On February 27, 1996, at the 2500 block of Valencia it took Loma Linda 35
25 minutes to respond.
26 13. On or about March 7, 1996, Loma Linda did attempt to charge the owner of a
27 1 stored vehicle under its control $40 for the owner to get personal items out of said vehicle, and
28 only declined to impose such charge at the insistence of a police officer.
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1 14. On or about February 15, 1996, Loma Linda sent two trucks to Highland and
2 Del Rosa in response to a call for a tractor-trailer tow which was leaking diesel fuel, when it
3 knew that it was not capable nor competent to handle such a situation.
4 15. After one hour on the scene and unable to handle the tow and remove the vehicle
5 from the rush hour traffic, Loma Linda took it upon itself to call another tow company.
6 CONCLUSION
7 The termination of the tow service of the Appellant by the City is sustained and upheld
8 in that Appellant failed to comply with the terms of Resolution No. 95-241 and of the July 27,
9 1996, Agreement.
10 STATEMENT OF DECISION
11 The Police Commission of the City of San Bernardino does hereby order as follows:
12 The Appeal of Mario Gomez and Leo Wenzel (doing business as Loma Linda Towing)
13 from the notice of termination of their towing agreement with the City is hereby denied.
14
15 Dated: 4/11/96
16 APPROVED:
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1 PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to the terms of San Bernardino Municipal Code
2 § 5.82.210 to § 5.82.250 this decision may be appealed to the Mayor and Common Council of
3 the City of San Bernardino by filing a written notice of appeal with the City Clerk directed to
4 the Mayor and Common Council within ten (10) calendar days after the date of action or
5 decision. Such appeal shall state the specific action appealed from, the specific grounds of the
6 appeal and the relief or action sought. The Mayor and Common Council may accept an appeal
7 for hearing when any of the following conditions exist: The appellant was denied the opportunity
8 to make a full and complete presentation to the Police Commission, new evidence is now
9 available that was not available at the time of the Police Commission hearing, or the Police
10 Commission's decision was arbitrary and capricious because inadequate evidence was presented
11 to the Commission to support its decision.
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d C I T Y O F
E D lbernardino
OD 1`�
O F F I C E O F T H E C I T Y A D M I N I S T R A T O R
S H A U N A C L A R K
C I T Y A D M I N I S T R A T O R
March 19, 1996
Loma Linda Towing
1915 S. Tippecanoe Avenue HAND DELIVERED
San Bernardino, California
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
Please be advised that pursuant to paragraph 5 of the AGREEMENT FOR
TOW SERVICES (Agreement) entered into between the City of San
Bernardino (City) and Loma Linda Towing on July 27, 1995, City
hereby informs Loma Linda Towing that said Agreement is terminated
effective thirty (30) calendar days from the date of this letter.
If Loma Linda Towing wishes to exercise its right to a
pretermination hearing before the Police Commission, it must file
its appeal for such a hearing with the appropriate entity on or
before March 26, 1996.
This termination is based upon the following categories of
violations of said Agreement, each one of which is sufficient to
warrant such termination.
1. Violation of Paragraph 2.A. of said Agreement in that
Loma Linda Towing does not have minimum storage space for
200 vehicles with a minimum of twelve inside spaces.
2 . Violation of Paragraph 2.D of said Agreement in that four
tires and customized chrome spoked rims of a 1982
Oldsmobile were stolen on or about December 11, 1995
while said vehicle was in storage and under the control
of Loma Linda Towing. Further, the actions of the
employee(s) relative to handling this situation with the
parties interested in said vehicle were not compatible
with the intent of the Agreement ensuring safe storage
and proper conduct to the public.
l PRIDE
3 0 0 N O R T H 0 S T R E E T , S A N 8 E R N A R 0 1 N 0 INPROGRISS
C A L I F O R N I A 9 2 4 1 8 . 0 0 0 1 ( 9 0 9 1 1 ■ A . 4 > > o 44,
3 . Violation of Paragraph 2 .M. of said Agreement in that on
no less then three occasions Loma Linda Towing has
indicated that it would be on the scene of the requested
tow within 20 minutes and it took either 30 minutes, 35
minutes, or 47 minutes (February 3 , 1996 at Kendall and
Little Mountain, February 27, 1996 at 2500 block of
Valencia and January 31, 1996 at 700 block of San
Anselmo, respectively. )
4 . Violation of Paragraphs 2 .F. and 2 .L. and Paragraph 3 of
said Agreement in that on or about March 7, 1996, Loma
Linda Towing did attempt to charge the owner of a stored
vehicle under its control $40 merely for that owner to
get personal items out of said vehicle.
5. Violation of Paragraph 2 .L of said Agreement in that on
or about February 15, 1996, Loma Linda Towing sent two
trucks to Highland and Del Rosa for a tractor-trailer tow
which was leaking diesel when, in fact, it knew that it
was not capable nor competent to handle such a situation.
After one hour on the scene and unable to handle the tow,
a towing company qualified to handle incidents involving
"big rigs" was called to remedy the situation.
I D ere ,
WILSON
Assistant City Administrator
FAW/md
cc: Mayor Tom Minor
Members of Common Council
City Attorney Jim Penman
Police Chief Lee Dean
-----------------------------------------FOR OFFICE USE ONLY ----------------------------------------
Departments Receiving Date/Time Stamp:
Copies:
�1YRNARO/,tip '96 i1:R 20 P 1 :17
Original to: City Clerk's c c
Office Admin. Operations
Payment Information:
Last Updated: 8/22/95 Account 001-000-4303
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO - NOTICE OF APPEAL
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Pursuant to Council Action, all Mayor and Common Council
appeals must be filed in the City Clerk's Office accompanied by the appropriate fee.
Complete All Information
Appellant Name
& Address:
Pate s_ -e- C c,
Contact Person t ,,
& Address:
As
Contact Person Phone Apt fit l
Number:?ctlp-`l�L-} Day: Evening: --
Affected Property
Address & A PN #
Type of Appeal - Check One:
Appeal to the Mayor & Common Council: Appeals to Other Legislative Bodies:
(*Adjusted Annually)
Planning Commission ($122.00 J3oard of Building Commissioners (No Charge)
Building Abatement ($75.00) VPolice Commission (No Charge)
Weed Abatement ($75.00) Other/Explain: (No Charge
Vehicle Abatement ($75.00) Other/Explain: (No Char
(continue next page)
ID
A VALID APPEAL MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING LLi (FORMATION (SBMC 2.64):
1. The specific action appealed, and date of that action:
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2. The specific grounds of appeal: I Yl C,o rre-� i OV\
3. The actions(s) sought from the legislative body:
4. Any additional information:
Signature of App�ljant:
U�
f 2=61L Date:
A'
1
A VALID APPEAL MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING Ii 1FORMATION (SBMC 2.64):
1. The specific action appealed, and date of that action:
tvi
2. The specific grounds of appeal: lY16-0
3. The actions(s) sought from the legislative body:
4. Any additional information:
Signatu� of Ap I ant:
'; f'�"'�' Date:
j AGREEMENT FOR TOW SERVICES
2
3 THIS AGREEMENT FOR TOW SERVICES entered into this dl_ da:
4 of � by and between the City of San Bernardin,
5 ( "City" ) and Loma Linda Towing( "Towing Carrier" ) .
6 The parties hereto agree as follows:
7 1 . Towing Carrier hereby agrees to provide tow services t:
8 the City of San Bernardino pursuant to the terms and condition:
9 contained in this Agreement.
10 2. Towing Carrier shall:
11 A. Have a minimum storage space for 200 vehicles witr
12 a minimum of twelve inside spaces; outside storage lots must be
13 adequately lighted. '
14 B. Have an attendant on call twenty-four (24) hours
15 a day, seven days a week at place of business.
16 C. Have no more than two telephone numbers listed
17 with any City department.
18 Store towed vehicles in a safe and protected space
lg where the vehicles and their contents will not be accessible to
20 thieves nor be damaged by activity in the carrier establishment or
21 from the elements or by vandals; no vehicles shall be left parked
22 or stored on the public streets at anytime; in no event shall the
23 city be liable for any theft, vandalism or damage occurring to any
24 such vehicle or is contents.
25 E. Post a tag on the windshield on all cars ordered
26 impounded by a City department.
27 F. Collect all towing or hauling and storage charges
28 on each vehicle from the owner; in no event shall the city be
OAB/j (Gana-Tow.Agrj �x f I 1 `1 i'
j liable for any such charge.
2 G. Whenever a vehicle has been involved in a:
3 accident or a traffic violation, and the owner or someone
4 delegated by him is present and is capable of removing the vehicit
5 from the street with reasonable dispatch, and the vehicle is no,
6 needed for criminal evidence, City and/or towing carrier shall
7 permit the owner or his delegate to remove the vehicle or call
8 towing company of his or her own choice to remove the same;
9 provided, however, that if the street cannot be cleared for safe
10 public use with reasonable dispatch by the above method, and in
11 all situations other than above set forth, a towing carrier frog
12 the top of the rotation list will be called by the City.
13 H. Furnish each owner with a fully itemized billing.
14 I . Immediately after each towing operation, make a
15 towing slip with the contents of each vehicle placed in his or her
16 care itemized thereon as verified by the officer ordering the same
17 and make the slip available to the City on request.
18 J. Release no impounded vehicle without first having
1g obtained a release from the City to do so.
20 K. Agree to a rotation system established by the
21 City.
22 L . Comply with all rules, regulations and laws of the
23 state, county and City.
24 �) Have adequate equipment to handle calls from the
25 city, impounds and storage of motor vehicles.
26 N. The carrier shall operate from a location within
27 the City of San Bernardino, and all of the facilities necessary to
28 comply with the provisions of this resolution shall be located
DAB// (Loma-Tov.Ayrj
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j within the City of San Bernardino.
2 O. Carry a broom, trash can and sand and shall Ilea:
3 and remove broken glass, spilled oil, or gasoline from the arez
4 before departing, unless directed to not do so by police officer:
5 and/or designated City employees at the scene.
6 P. Obtain and maintain public liability and propert-
7 damage insurance in the amount of $1 million, and naming the Cite
8 of San Bernardino as an additional insured.
9 Q. Tow vehicles shall be rated at a minimum of 1400C
10 GVW.
11 3 . Towing Carrier shall give or cause to be given written
12 notice to the registered and legal owners of each vehicle which is
13 towed in conformity with the authorization and requirements of
14 this Agreement concerning the fact of such towing, the place at
15 which such vehicle is stored and the imposition of charges for
16 towing, storage and related services whenever the towing carrier
17 knows or is able to ascertain from the registration records in the
18 vehicle or from the registration records of the Department of
19 Motor Vehicles the name and address of the registered and legal
20 owners. The notice shall be given not more than ten (10) days
21 from the date of the towing of the vehicle by the towing carrier.
22 4. Every tow truck of towing carrier which is subject to
23 the provisions of this Agreement and which by virtue of this
24 Agreement responds to calls for service by the City, shall be
25 clearly marked on both sides of the cab with the name and
26 telephone number of towing carrier.
27 I5 This Agreement may be terminated by the City upon
28 thirty (30 ) days written notice providing the right to a
DAB/j (Loma-Tow.Agr] 3
1 pretermination hearing before the Police Commission.
2 6 . Towing Carrier shall be dispatched to tow calls on
3 per call rotation basis in conjunction with other towing carrierE
4 which have entered into agreements with the City.
i
5 7 . Monthly, Towing Carrier shall submit to the City a list
6 of all vehicles towed the previous month, including license plate
7 number and VIN.
8 8. Towing Carrier -shall--charge for-services.-on-cal.l.s-by
9 the_Sity,_,in-an_amsuat_r&ot--tn-exceed--the=hourly"Y Ate F-Set-forth-by
10 the Cali J ia_Higbway _R trol. The minimum charge for services
11 shall not exceed one ( 1 ) hour.
12 9 . Standby time for tow trucks will begin one ( 1 ) hour
13 after receipt of calls from the City and is definled to mean the
14 time consumed after the first hour in necessary preparations in
15 order to -tow the disabled vehicle and in cleaning up the immediate
16 surrounding area.
17 10. In the event that a towed vehicle is forfeited by the
18 owner in accordance with §14607 of the California Vehicle Code,
19 100- of the net proceeds of the sale of the vehicle shall be
20 remitted to the City.
21 11 . Upon reasonable advance written notice, City shall have
22 the right to review and audit the books of towing carrier at
23 towing carrier's place of business and during business hours.
24 12. The parties understand and agree that this Agreement
25 grants Towing Carrier a non-exclusive franchise.
26 13 . Tow a hffrTM='a7td==reml-t-to- city --on. a
27 jmonth3,y-basis-a--525•,,00--pe2-- vehi-ele-towed-f-eenchise--f-ee. Such fee
28 shall not be charged for those individuals who have had their
DAB/j (Loma-Tov.Agrl 4
1 vehicles towed, stored or impounded as a result of being a victia
2 of a crime ( car theft, etc) or those vehicles belonging to an,,
3 public agency.
4 14 . Towing Carrier shall also comply with the minimal
I
5 standards set forth in the California Highway Patrol tow service
6 agreement as such agreement shall be amended from time to time.
7 Where provisions of this Agreement and the CHP tow service
8 agreement shall be found to be in conflict, the provisions of this
9 Agreement shall prevail.
10 15. Any notice to be given pursuant to this Agreement by
11 either party to the other shall be deposited with the United
12 States Postal Service, postage prepaid, and addressed as follows:
13 To the City: City Administr"ator
300 North "D" Street
14 San Bernardino, CA 92418
15 To Towing Carrier: Loma Linda Towing
1915 S. Tippecanoe Ave.
16 San Bernardino, CA
17
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent the
18 giving of notice by personal service.
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' 1 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed thi
2 Agreement on the day and date first above shown.
3 CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO
4 f� 6/ `;
By:
5 Mayor Tom Minor
6
Attest: LOMA LINDA TOWING
7 "Towing Carrier"
8
By: :,
9
B
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Approved as to Form
11 and Legal Content:
12 JAMES F. PENMAN,
City Attorney
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POLICE DEPARTMENT CA0361000 95-62793
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA PAGE 1
PC 488 PETTY THEFT
ASSIGNMENT
On 12/26/95 , at approximately 1650 hours, I 'was radio dispatched to 1915 S .
Tippecanoe (Loma Linda Tow) in regards to a possible 487 . Upon arrival, I
made contact with the victim.
VICTIM STATEMENT
GOMEZ informed me that on 11/26/95, she let a friend drive her vehicle. The
friend did not have a driver' s license and was stopped by the San Bernardino
Police Department . The friend was arrested and the vehicle was towed and had
a 30 day hold placed on it due to the fact that the driver did not have a
license . GOMEZ informed me that approximately between the first and second
week of December, she drove by Loma Linda Tow to check on her vehicle at
which time, she did see that the vehicle was in a secured fenced area where
she could see that everything was intact on the vehicle.
She stated that approximately one week after that, she drove by Loma Linda
Tow again and saw that the vehicle had been moved in the lot and that it was
up on jacks with no tires on it . She stated that she immediately went home
and called Loma Linda Tow to ask them where her tires were . She informed me
that at that time, she was told by an employee of Loma Linda Tow that the
rims and tires had probably been removed for safekeeping and to call back
later. She stated that she called the next day and asked for the manager at
which time, a male answered the phone and stated, "This is the manager. " She
asked that subject where her rims and tires were and the manager told her,
"We took them off for safety. " GOMEZ stated that she believed him and had no
reason not to believe what the manager was stating.
GOMEZ stated that on 12/26/95, she arrived back at the business after
receiving a release form from the San Bernardino Police Department to pick up
her vehicle . She asked an employee, who was standing at the gate, about her
rims and that she was there to pay her bill so she could receive her vehicle.
The employee told her to pay $671 and come back in about an hour and she
could get her vehicle . GOMEZ stated she asked the employee why she had to
come back in an hour and the employee said, "Because we' re busy and it' s
gonna take an hour to get your vehicle out . " GOMEZ stated she then said to
the employee, "Well, I ' ll go ahead and pay you, but I'd rather just wait
MAGILL C50046 JMN 12/27/95
REVIEWED BY: RECORDS USE ONLY
SBPD CR-2a
[� �C P--7 X ,,i ' d--'c
POLICE DEPARTMENT CA0361000 95-6279:
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA PAGE 2
PC 488 PETTY THEFT
VICTIM STATEMENT CONT.
here . "
She then asked the employee if she could see one of her rims and the employe
then handed her a form and said, "Sign this release form and I can let yc
j see them. 11 She then told the employee that she did not want to sign any typ
of release until she knew that her rims were safe . The employee then said
",,Just go ahead and pay us the $671 and come back in an hour and we' ll hav
your vehicle ready. " Again, GOMEZ stated, "No. I' ll just wait . " GOME
stated that she did go ahead and pay the $671 and a few minutes later, sh,
npticed that anotlier employee was bringing some tires on some standard rim,
towards her vehicle . She then asked the employee, "Whose rims are those?
and the employee then said; "They' re your rims . " She then told the employee
"No they' re not . I want my original rims that were on the vehicle . " At that
time, the employee then said to her, "They were stolen so what we' ll do is gc
ahead and give you the rims off of this car, " pointing to a grey vehicle witt
the license plate number of MARYOYA. (At the time of the investigation an(
this report, 10-28 ' s were down. ) GOMEZ stated that, "No, " she did not want
those rims, she wanted her rims back. At that time, the employee said, "WE
don' t have them. They were stolen. "
GOMEZ stated that she asked the employees several times to get the manager sc
that she could talk to him, but the employees would walk into an office anc
come back out and say that the manager was busy and that he would talk to hei
at a later date . While she saw me talking to MARIO GOMEZ, I informed the
victim that MARIO GOMEZ was the manager and she stated, "That' s the same one
that was inside of the office that wouldn' t come out to talk to me. "
She also informed me that there was a box of tools inside of the vehicle.
She stated that she did not know the value or what type of tools, but just
that they were in a tool box. I* informed her that they would not care and
that the business did not have them and she stated, "Well, they must have
been stolen too. "
INVOLVED PARTY STATEMENT
GOMEZ, MARIO
Business Address : 1915 S . Tippecanoe
San Bernardino CA 92404
Business Phone : 790-7084
GOMEZ informed me that on 12/11/95, he filed a 488 report by phone with the
San Bernardino Police Department, informing them that the wheels from a 1982
MAGILL C50046 JINN 12/27/95
REVIEWED BY: RECORDS USE ONLY
SBPD CR-2a
POLICE DEPARTMENT CA0361000 95_62793
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA PAGE 3
PC 488 PETTY THEFT
INVOLVED PARTY STATEMENT CONT.
Oldsmobile had been stolen while parked in his yard.
I asked GOMEZ if these wheels were stolen off a vehicle or stolen from inside
the storage area and he stated, "They must have been stolen inside the
storage area. "
I asked GOMEZ what he meant by "they must have been" and he stated that he
heard that an employee had taken them off and put them in storage for
safekeeping.
I asked GOMEZ if he knows which employee did this and he -stated, "No. "
I asked GOMEZ if he knew when these tires and wheels were taken off of the
vehicle and he stated, "No. "
I asked GOMEZ if it was common practice to take tires off of' a car and put
them in storage for safekeeping and GOMEZ said, "We always take stereos and
speakers out so that way they won' t get stolen. "
I then again told GOMEZ, "I'm not asking about stereos or speakers. I'm
asking about tires . Do you normally take tires off of a vehicle?" GOMEZ
then stated, "No, not really, but these were expensive tires . "
I asked him what he meant by "expensive" and he stated, "Anywhere from two,
three or four hundred dollars . "
I then pointed to a vehicle inside his lot and stated,. "Those tires there
appear to be four or five hundred dollars. Are you taking those off too?"
and he did not answer.
I then asked GOMEZ why he did not tell the victim that her tires were stolen
when she asked about them and GOMEZ stated, "Because I knew she wouldn' t pay
her bill . "
I then said to GOMEZ, "So you deceived her into believing that her tires were
in storage all of this time just so you that you could get your money from
her? " and GOMEZ then said, "If she didn' t pay the money that she owes, she
would never come back and get this car. . "
I then said to GOMEZ that would be a civil problem and that I believed it was
wrong for him to deceive the customer like that, especially when it was a San
Bernardino Police Department tow. GOMEZ informed me that he offered to put
MAGILL C50046 JMN 12/27/95
REVIEWED BY: RECORDS USE ONLY
SBPD CR-2a
POLICE DEPARTMENT CA0361000 95-6279
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA PAGE 4
PC 488 PETTY THEFT
INVOLVED PARTY STATEMENT CONT
other tires on the victim' s car and that she refused.
I then asked GOMEZ who owned the vehicle that he was going to take the tire.
off of and GOMEZ stated, "We do. "
I then asked GOMEZ, "So you're not taking the tires off of someone else' :
vehicle and putting them on hers?" and GOMEZ said, "No. "
I then asked GOMEZ how he knew that the tires were stolen if they were placec
in storage and GOMEZ could not answer.
INVOLVED PARTY #2 STATEMENT
RICHARD informed me that he was the tow truck driver on 11/26/95 and had
towed the victim' s vehicle to the yard. He also informed me that the wheels
were on the vehicle' when he parked it and he described them as being chrome
spoked rims . He stated that he did talk to the lady (victim) on 12/26/95
outside the gate and informed her that the tires had been stolen from the
yard.
I asked him if he was the one who took the tires off of the vehicle and he
stated, "No. "
I asked RICHARD if it was common practice for a tow company to take tires off
of a vehicle for safekeeping and he said, "We always try to take valuable
stuff that is inside the vehicle and put it in storage for safekeeping. "
I again told RICHARD, "I'm asking about the tires . Do you normally take
tires off for safekeeping?" and he said, "No, we normally just pull the
vehicle inside a locked storage building; however, we don' t have that here. "
I then asked RICHARD, "In the years that you have been a tow truck driver,
how many times have you taken wheels off of a vehicle for safekeeping?" and
RICHARD said, "Only once and that was at the owner' s request . "
MAGILL C50046 JMN 12/27/95
REVIEWED BY: RECORDS USE ONLY
SBPD CR-2a
P0.uICE DEPARTMENT CA0361000
95-6279
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA
PAGE 5
PC 488 PETTY THEFT
INVOLVED PARTY #2 STATEMENT CONT.
I then asked RICHARD if he told the victim"'that the business still had hE
rims and tires when she was inquiring about them and RICHARD stated, "Yes
did because we needed her to pay her bill . "
I asked RICHARD, "Don' t you think that is deceiving the customer?" and r
stated, "Yes, it probably is, but we had to get our bill paid. "
I asked RICHARD if the victim ever asked to speak to a manager and RICHAR
said, "Yes she did, but the manager wasn' t here. "
I then said to RICHARD, "She saw MARIO here the whole time that she has bee
here and you guys told her that the manager was busy. " RICHARD then said, "
meant that the manager was busy out of the office. "
The victim agreed to allow the business to place tires on her car so that she
could remove it on 12/27/95 . The business also had stordd the vicitm' ;
stereo equipment from the vehicle inside a locked storage office . The victii
received that stereo equipment and took it home with her. The victim statec
that she would return back to the business on 12/27/95 to retrieve he
vehicle. It also should be noted that 'MARIO GOMEZ stated that he would not
charge the victim any type of storage fees if she came and got her vehicle or
12/27/95 .
(NOTE : This report should be forwarded to Sergeant ARAGON of the Traffic
Bureau for further follow-up. Please reference this case with case number
95-60297 and 95-62793 . )
The victim stated that the value of the rims and tires was $goo .
E LL C50046 JMN 12/27/95
EWED BY: RECORDS USE ONLY
SBPD CR-2a
�t.
p(IARTY[NT of CALL FORMA HIGHWAY PATROL •Z 2 i •, . ' �..
VEHICLE REPORT
CHP 180(Rev s-w)bPl 085
_ PJAHISH"TO ALL Pon"
RORTINO O[IAR1Y ENT •.-Io
:.
LOCATION COO[ DAY[I T1Y4 OF A[)ORT -
Flu NVMBSA
Of STORED VfBCLf
LOCATION TOWED,fTOI tN'/ROy `'.. . G...• .7- -RED.PaR10MALL►O /
OOOM<1tR READING DAIR / TIMa DISPATCH NOTIP
/ GLEAM M M Ym �NO
- ��gyp' L/C CLEAR IN on rn NO
/� YAK[ ) YOOLL SOOY TYP
LAYS Rom / T
7 ►NU 16 l C jFw rur2 y w w h I TWO
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!qN NUYS[JI RA1SS 0 VALV / OWNER VALYATION
F-, 0.300 ❑301.2500 ❑2500 ❑ f
F. - r
L ro STORED IMPOUNDED ❑ RELEASED ❑ RECOVERED - VEHICLE / COMPONEN'
TOWING/STORAGE CONCERN MAYS. ADDRESS PH - -•-• . . _.
-' TOIFED TO/STORED AT - -
- I'H -- L r - - - -- ---iii�. _
-
__. ..__
noRAC AuTHOIartr AND REASON ORnE SSE
-- - -...-- .._ ....-_-._ v• VIN"FEAR ALTBU AuwVED
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WRECKED. . — SLAT.(FRONT) REGISTRATION .__. LIFT IR01lT _
- CAMPER
lVRH[D REAR (REAR) ALT/GENERATOR RANT/LIGHT I^ _ - - _•-.•--- __ _. _
VAN DA LIZEO -- _ RADIO.-. - :�. fYT'• CARGO "DLO D 70•'I-.-.'V.-;' •-_>AN p
SA7TSR►�- -.' _ Y[S!Q N LOAD
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RELEA1e v[1+ICL[ -❑q/O AGENT' []-AGENCY 226]0.3 VC - _.._ -. O M P 011
I
TO: NxE TSIONA7VRE)
f2
I NAME OF PERSON AVTHORILNO RELINE --- - -
GATE
.-.CERTIgCATIdt 1.THE M ONEO.Do.MtRnr c[Rn!C..TNAT_LAr.J[qAct7L.__—.
kl A.VTNONZ90 AND ENTTL
TEO TO TARE►OpEBS10 1 OF THE ABOVE DEBCISSSD VaNICLX
SIGNATURE Of PERSON AUTHORIZING RELEASE -_ _._.. _....__.... __. -_.__._ BIGNATVINE OF F[RSON TAK1N0 POSSESSION _._... —._
❑ STOLEN._VEHICLE-/`COMPONENT---- -'❑"EMBEZZLED-VEHICLE `'-- ❑ PLATE(S)REPOAT_-
DATE AND TIME OP OCCuARENC[ DATE AND TIME REPORTED NAY[W REPORTING PARTY
DRIVERS LICENSE NUMBER AND STATE
LAST_OPoVIA OF VEHICLE - --- _OAT[At70 LWK__. ADORE}S_.-_
I CERTIFY OR DECLARE UNDER PENALTY OF I[RJURY UNDER THE LAW!OF =ATVRE OF PERSON MAKING REPORT - DATE --THE]TATE OF CALIIORNA THAT TH[ --
-- _REMARKS --'-- - - --- --.----- —
._ -�[LIST-PROISRTY.TOOLS.VEHICLE DAMAGE..ARRESTS.]
---- -----'_—•— REPORTED Brt ---
- - - •-- .-- , --tee -----
lIOMAT VRE OI OPRGER TAIIS/0 R[IORT LB. NVMSM W►iRYI OATS MO T1/1t0 "1� \
REOVWO NOTItEB SOfT TO RSOIaTERaD_ YO
'
-
�
i0 : 20 02 PRINT REQUESTED BY TERMINAL DSK2
�nnT[E TN[IDENT 4P960340334 DR #P96005972
Z177PED 12/03/9S 0% 20: 18 BY PD01 /25759 AS TYPE TSTUP
� 1 A0&rTHE7-- 002019 BY PD01 /25759
050ENE 09i20 : 0
'PE: 180 (VEHICLE TOW REPORT FORM) PRIORITY: 3 *
[ V47CH GROUP: 81
-000 KENDALL/LTL MTN (NV)
O F��? T��7]P LEI kENDALL/LTL MTN @460XXR
. A!? DISPOS (25759) 1B1 450088 DFCR MICHAEL FOWLER
: 520 REMOrE VEH, iBi , , , 460XXR, ,
7 ?21 NEMOTE DFIVEF, 181 , V9112181 , , , , , , , ,
AVUEST 1B1 REQUEST FROM TIELD UNIT PD02 TO PD01 , lB1 NEEDS A UNIT WITH A
. P2S "REMOTE MDTVEH, 460XXR
'. F% CODE4 tB1
0917 REMOTE DRIVER, 18i , V9121181 , , , , , , , ,
u930 RQUEST 1B1 REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT SERV TO PD02 , 1B1 TOW IS LOMA LINDA I
� ENP KENDALL/LITTLE MTM
nFT3 ?EST 1B3 225124 [PL MIKE REYNOLDS , FOR A 180
>"'3� (502i4;
;AT0 DIEPO (5C214. 1Bl RPT 180 '
) 526 CANCEL (2310) #P0344 , LONA LINDA ENR
0??i *ENFTE (25124) 1B3
012 CANCEL (50214) OP033i , LOMA LINDA TOW ALREADY NOTIFIED
t ?33 RQUEST 1E1 REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT SERV TO PD02 , 1B1 REF WARRANT CHECK R
| 1 TOF CCL ;912L i91 . . %G| WILL BE A
,olLi- HIS BE ,CJF S62JET77
L Z nTh6CNE (25124)
� V : CANCEL 50214) #P034i , RONG [DL #
P4 =fNQrE ALLCOM^ 1B1 , , X, , , , , X, 100254, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
9D" X%F7T 1S1 REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT SERV TO PD02 , 1G 1
=']P aZ. 30 ) [H6; VC14601 . lA/27315D
b938 QMCI- Z5012) VP0351 ,
1 ?4 1 COVE I L� � ~-- ----- '
940 RQUEi7 1 3 i 'Z']UEST FROM FIELD UNIT PD02 r/J SERV , 101 --
l_ (CE iris [L"IErir t
CCEI'.'E D CORRESPONO [NG FIRE INC ltFq.;i)(:,3391 DR 4P96010183
12: Q: 2" FROM 911 -
NTEFE1-1 13 :59:53 L^e POC6 /50106 AS TYPE 1183
DISPATCHED 13:00:59 BY PDo! /50271
ONSCENE 13:06:09 '
r'FE : 1182F: (NON INJURY TRAFFIC COLLISION) PRIORITY: 2
�1ISPATCH GROUP . CC PRO: SC632 SOURCE : 9
OCN: 2516 N VALENCIA AV .SBO NEAR 00 E NORBERT DR
'DAME :
' 1259 TEXT: OCCG TO THE F :VEH VS POLE
13(.-)C, REDIR (25717) CC Cl
'1300 DISP (50271 ) 1T1 #50123 CSRII STEPHEN PERLSTEIN
' I"'C 1 *ENRTE (0123 ) 1T1
" 1306 *ONSCN E (50 1223)123) 1 T 1
'1309 RQUEST 1T1 REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT PD02 TO PDcjl 1T1 REG MOTOR UNIT OR A
VY UNIT / HAS FOSS DUECE
"1311 ASSTER (25717) M8 #50127 LENTZ
1311 PREMPT (25717) M8
'1313 ASSTOS Sil #24091 SGT JENIFER ARAGON
'1314 CODE4 lTl
'1314 CODE4 S11
' 1315 ASSTOS M3 #24086 MONTECINO
1316 CODE4 M3 MORE
1316 *REMOTE MDTCDL . X .N5095557. . . . . . . .
132.) ASSTOS (25717) M6 #50005 PRITCHETT
1320 ASSTOS (5717) M8 #50127 LENTZ
1323 RQUEST M3 REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT SERV TO PD02 M3 -- � WILL BE
NROUTE WHEN SHE FINDS A RIDE .
1323 CANCEL (50032) #P0473 . REG
1326 OR #P960101B3
1326 DISPO 1T1 RPT 1182R
1331 CANCEL (50032) #F'0489 . LOMA LINDA TOW
1336 CODE4 M6
1336 CODE4 M8
1340 *RQUEST 1Tl REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT lTl TO SERV . NOTIFY EDISON.POLE NO N
MBER FRONT OF 2439 VALENCIA GUIDE WIRE SNAP AT TOP. . NO EMERGENCY BUT SHOULD BE
D. .
1340 INSERV (25717) M6
1340 INSERV (25717) MB
1341 INSERV M3
1355 RQUEST Sil REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT SERV TO PD02 Sll -- LOMA LINDA CANCE
LED. BIG Z ENROUTE
1355 CANCEL (50032) #P0513 . BIG Z ENROUTE . LOMA LINDA CANCELLED
1408 INSERV S11
U1/31i �6 16 : 46 : 21 PRINT REQUESTED BY TERMINAL SUPV
POLICE INCID EMT #P960310535 DR #P96005484
ENTERED 01/31/96 15 : 15: 41D BY PD06 /25717 AS TYPE CKV
DISPATCHED 15 : 26:09 BY PDO1 /50271 �pv
ONSCENE 15 :31 : 41
TYPE : GTAREC (GRAND THEFT AUTO RECOVERY) PRIORITY : 4
DISPATCH GROUP : A2 PRD : SC123 SOURCE : P
LOCN : 744 N' SAN ANSELMO AV , SBO NEAR 00 W CLEVELAND ST
NAME :
/1515 TEXT : IN THE FIELD TO THE R/OF THIS ADD - WHI TOYT VAN LIC �� Ap
POSS GTA
/1515 HOLD (50271 )
/1526 DISP (50271 ) 2A2 #25418 OFCR FRANK ALVAREZ
/1526 *ENRTE (25418) 2A2
/1526 REMOTE VEH,2A2, , , 1JTB795„
/1527 *REMOTE MDTVEH, IJTB785
/1531 *ONSCNE (25418) 2A2
/1537 *RQUEST 2A2 REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT 2A2 TO SERV , ATTEMPT TO LOCATE PH(
# FOR R/0 OF THIS VEH, CALL THEM, SEE IF THEY KNOW 1020 OF THEIR TOYOTA VAN.
O IS
law
/1540 *CODE4 (25418) ' 2A2
/1540 *REMOTE MDTVEH, IJTB785
/1545 RQUEST 2A2 REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT SERV TO 2A2 , UTL A # FOR R/0 AT EIT
R ADDRESS
/1545 *MISC (25418) 2A2 , 10-4
/1550 RQUEST 2A2 REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT SERV TO PD02 , 2A2 - TOW IS LOMA LIN
/1550 CANCEL (50287) #P0575 , DONE ,
/1552 MISC (50249) 2A2 , CONTINUE THE TOW, LOOKS LIKE NOT DRIVEABLE
/1601 *DR (25418) #P96005484
/1601 *DISPO (25418) 2A2 RPT GTAREC
/1612 *REMOTE MDTVEH,3H20456,C, , , , , , , ,
/1630 CANCEL (50287) #P0613 , LOMA LINDA SAYS 7 MORE MIN
/1637 *MISC (25418) 2A2 , LOMA LINDA TOW JUST NOW 97.
/1641 *REMOTE 2A2 GTAREC
L X/V4A Tocv Too.r 5'7
Tv
7'yZJ ICA 4.4 .
City of San Bernardino
San Bernardino Police Department
Interoffice Memorandum
To Sgt. Jenifer Aragon
From: J. Montecino
Subject: Loma Linda Tow
Date: 2/16/96
Copies:
on 2/15/96 Dispatcher Porter called regarding a question with Loma Linda
Tow. It appears as though a "Big Rig" had some sort of Diesel Fuel spill
near or at Del Rosa and Highland. A tow was requested and Loma Linda was
in line for the next rotational tow. From what I gather, we informed them
the rig was an 18 wheeler and they insisted they could handle the tow as
well as a fuel transfer. They went to the scene and were unable to handle
the situation and took it upon themselves to call another towing agency.
This resulted in about an hour delay in the middle of going home traffic.
Radio wanted to know if Loma Linda had the right to call another tow or was
it up to us. My feeling was they should have called us back when they
determined they couldn't handle it. I called Cecil Dillard at the City
Attorneys Office. and he was under the same impression, they should have
advised us. In addition, I believe only a qualified Haz Mat Co. is suppose
to handle fuel transfers.
Attached is the computer print out Porter gave me on 2/15/96 and another
with the completed call. I understand there have been difficulties in
dealing with Loma Linda Tow, perhaps you can use this.
:a n1D Is COU.arrm TO PV)MDXW 1
P OMUEM QUALM MUC1 623VICM1
uDOCIZA SA arr XXVTX0m TO Ls,OVf
v T= QRALIT! OF LIM
TZIOOM PRO"= 12000RITIOO AM "OSLM M"VX 10
l6 : lt : 3l PRINT REQUESTED BY TERMINAL SERV
POLICE ' INCIDENT #P960460525
ENTERED 02/15/96 14 : 55: 45 BY PD01 /25101
DISPATCHED 14 : 55: 46 BY PD01 /25101
ONSCENE 14 : 55 : 46
TYPE : SfRMTR (STRANDED MOTORIST - NO HAZARD) PRIORITY: 3
DISPATCH GRQUP : Cl
LOCN : 2200 ' DEL ROSA (NV)
/1455 OUTSRV ICI STRMTR 2200 N DEL ROSA , TRACTOR W TRAILER
/1455 DISPOS (25101 ) 1C1 #24925 OFCR DAVID ROSAS
/1503 MISC (50287) 1C1 GAS LEAK, ROLL FIRE
11503 *MISC (24925) 1C1 THE TRAILER LIC # i
/1506 CANCEL (50032) #PO536 , FD ADV
/1507 CODE4 (50287) 1C1
/1508 MISC (50287) 1C1 , 100 GAL OF DIESEL LEAKING ON STR
/1520 RQUEST 1C1 REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT SERV TO PD02 1C1 --- LOMA LINDA TC
INSISTS THAT THEY CAN HANDLE IT AND ETA IS 20 MINS
/1520 CANCEL (50032) . #PO548 , LOMA LINDA TOW
/1534 RQUEST 1C1 REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT SERV TO PD01 1C1 -- LOMA LINDA SAY
THAT THEY CAN HANDLE THE DIESEL FUEL TRANSFER
/1535 RQUEST 1C1 REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT PD02 TO PD01 1C1 ',NEEDS .SHIRTrRELIE
/1539 ASST (50287) 2P28 #25264 CSRI RAY SHOWALTER
/1541 *ENRTE (25264) 2P28
/1547 *ONSCNE (25264) 2P28
/1547 MISC (50287) 1C1 , 15:45: 12 To PD02 from 1C1 : IM GOING TO NEED ANOTHER Ut
T FOR NB 1184. I GOT SB 1184 SO FAR. . . .
/1558 CODE4 (50287) 2P28
/1614 MISC (50032) 1C1 , LOMA LINDA SENT 2 TRUCKS AND WERE UNABLE TO HANDLE- THE
TOW, THEY THEN LEFT AND THEY HAVE SENT A & B TOW OUT. THEY - WERE ADVISED. THAT WE
NEEDED TO KNOW FOR SURE AT THE FIRST CALL IF THEY COULD .HANDLE AND INSISTED THE
THEY COULD. THIS HAS RESULTED IN A 1 HR DELAY ON THE TOW SO FAR.
/
/
.
ENTEPED 07/ 15/56 14 : 55: 45 BY PD01 !25101
D [SPArCHED L055: 46 8v PDO1 /25101
ONSCENE 14 : 55 :4E
CLOSED RE3 0Z. 15/9= 16 : 34 :02 Of 1C1 ( #24925 )
| TYPE : STRMTR i5TRAMDED MOTORI57 - NO HAZARD) PRIORITY: 3
DISPATCH GROUP : Cl
LOCW : N DEL ROSA (NV)
4455 GUTSRY 1C1 STRMTFi 2200 N DEL ROSA . TRACTOR W TRAILER
' | " DISPO5 (251()1 ) 1C1 #249?5 OFCR DAVID ROSAB
! i503 MISC (50287) 1C1 . GAS LEAK. ROLL FIRE
0503 *MIsC (24925 ) 1C1 . THE TRAILER LIC # I
' 1506 CANCEL (50032) #PO536 . FD AD\/
15()7 CODE4 (50287 ) 1C1
L508 MISC /50287) lC1 . t0O GAL OF DIESEL LEAKING ON STIR
1520 RQUE5T 1Cl REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT SERV TO PD02 . --- LOMA LINDA TO�
INSISTS THAT THEY CAN HANDLE IT AND ETA IS 20 MINS ^ "
/1520 CANCEL /50032 > #P0548 . LOMA LINDA TOW
11534 RQUEST 1C1 REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT SERV TO PD01 - -- LOMA LINDA SAYE THAT THE ! CAN HANDLE THE DIESEL FUEL TRANSFER
! i535 RQUEST ICI REQUEST FROM FIELD UNIT PD02 TO P001 . 1C1 NEEDS SHIRT RELIEF
' 1539 ASST (50297) 2P28 #25264 CSRI RAY SHOWALTER MOF
/ 1541 *ENPTE (25264 ) 2P28
' 1547 vONSChE (25254 ) 2P28
1547 MISC (50287) 1C1 . 15: 45: 12 To PD02 from 1C1 : IM GOING TO NEED ANOTHER UK
T FOR NB 11B4 . I GOT SB 1184 SO FAR. . . .
./ i55B CODE4 (50287) 2P28
/ 1614 MISC (50032) 1C1 . LOMA LINDA SENT 2 TRUCKS AND WERE UNABLE TO HANDLE THE
TOW. THEY THEN LEFT AND THEY HAVE SENT A & B TOW OUT THEY WERE ADVISED THAT WE
NEEDED TO KNOW FOR SURE AT THE FIRST CALL IF THEY COULD WERE D HANDLE AND INSISTED THA
'THE« COULD. THIS HAS RESULTED IN A 1 HR DELAY ON T' '^ TOW SO FAR
1633 *CuEAR (25264 ) 2P28 RES ^
z. i6J4 *CLEAR (24920 ) ICI RE3 , MOVED OUT OF THE STREET. A&B TOW ARRIVED LOMA L
[�I/A TOWCOuLD NOT HANDLE IT. ' ^ ' ^
' i634 *CLOSE
LINDA BOWLS : Okay. So you've heard our concerns .
DENNIS BARLOW: It' s all on the tape .
LINDA BOWLS : It' s all on the tape . And when MRS . KESSLE is
N well and able to come back, then she--
DENNIS BARLOW: She would get her notice of whatever, if ey grant
it or deny it . Then she would appeal i just like
you did--
LINDA BOWLS : Okay.
DENNIS BARLOW: --to this board. And then they ould work with
that set of facts in front of t em.
LINDA BOWLS : Okay. But, possibly, you wi take into
consideration the foreclosu dates?
DENNIS BARLOW: They' ll take into consider ion everything they can
legally take into consid ration. I can' t give
you--I don' t want to to them what they can do and
what they can' t do ex ept--
LINDA BOWLS : Sure .
DENNIS BARLOW: --by law.
LINDA BOWLS : Sure .
DENNIS BARLOW: Okay.
` LINDA BOWLS : Okay. We
we just wanted you to hear our
concerns
JIM SIVELLE: Thank ou.
LINDA BOWLS : Tha you.
DENNIS BARLOW: M . CHAIRMAN, because this matter is now no longer
n the ownership of HOWARD FRANCIS and
LEONA FRANCIS, I would suggest that the motion to
table would be in order.
JIM SIVELLE All those in favor?
New speak rs : Aye .
JIM SIVELLE : Opposed?
(No audible response) .
JIM SIVELLE : Let' s see . We have next a predetermination hearing
for the Loma Linda Towing agreement for towing
services filed by MARIO GOMEZ and LEO WENZEL.
Are MR. GOMEZ or MR. WENZEL in the audience?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: MR. CHAIRMAN, honorable members of the police
commission, my name is JOHN LIGHTBURN, and my
business address is P. O. Box 1622 , San
Bernardino, California 92402 ; and I'm here
representing the owner of Loma Linda Towing,
MR. LEO WENZEL, sitting to my left, your right, in
the front row.
I had called MR. WILSON whose signature is on the
letter that moved this action towards you and that
was written to MR. WENZEL on March 19, that he had
some problems coming up and perhaps a hearing.
And let me just digress a second. I 'm getting
over the flu which has the sneezing part to it .
Perhaps some of you might be familiar with that .
So if I have to, I' ll do it in the most
appropriate way I can, but I don' t know at what
time these things are going to take place,
not knowing my sinus that well at this time .
Anyway, the reason for calling MR. WILSON this
morning--I would have done it Friday
but I believe City Hall was closed--was to
see if we could get at least one month' s
continuance, assuming that you folks meet
once a month, to give me a chance to become
familiar with this record.
Again, MR. WENZEL didn' t know that there would be
a hearing this evening this date until the 27th,
28th of March.
His reason for retaining me, not only have I
represented him in the past, but I was the
representative tow carrier association that
negotiated in a sense the terms of these
agreements that resulted as a matter of the
deregulation of tow carrier services .
So, anyway, he thought it might be important since
this is the first issue to evolve from this
new agreement that perhaps somebody that was
there who negotiated that with the city
might have some insight because a lot of
what was negotiated has not yet been spelled
out, especially the procedural aspect of it .
This we view what amounts to a hearing that
would lead to a taking of a property right in
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that MR. WENZEL having gone through the franchise
process and was awarded pursuant to that and
this agreement has a valid conditional use
permit which he has just about finished the
construction for his new site . He' s filed for
a temporary certificate of occupancy in order
to help clarify some of these issues .
But in order for us to sit down and play this
game tonight without knowing what rules are going
to apply, whether we' re going to be able to call
witnesses, what MR. CARLYLE plans to call, and
what files may exist that we haven' t had an
opportunity to see is something that we' re
certainly not able to be prepared for with this
short of notice .
This record goes back to the 26th of December.
My client found out nothing about all what is
contained in the documents that we have until the
19th of March.
So MR. CARLYLE, the city, police department,
whomever is involved in this on their behalf has
had since Christmas of last year. ,
We, at best, have had since the 19th of March.
We would sincerely request that you continue
this one month, allow myself an opportunity to get
together with MR. WILSON, MR. CARLYLE, and see
if nothing else, we can narrow some of these
issues . Some of these go back to interpretation
of that agreement and make all of our work, if
indeed we have to have a hearing on this, simpler,
easier.
If we go based upon the hearings that are
afforded people on revocation of a condition to
use permit, for instance, perhaps, like a motel,
the Golden Eagle Motel, that the city held the
hearing. And we were able to know what was going
on, and we were able to have access to all the
records, know who they were going to call as a
witness . All we have is what may or may not
amount to a complete file a lot of which is
hearsay upon hearsay.
I think that if we get into the procedural
due process, the substantive due process aspects
of this, taking perhaps we' re looking at a hearing
that might go 20-30 hours . That may be something
that you folks aren' t interested in doing.
Perhaps a hearing officer then should be
appointed. These are things we need to discuss
because I think it ' s in everybody' s interest,
especially the city and would make that request if
not to grind the continuance for one month. We' ll
do our best but we' re pretty much overwhelmed with
what we have received in a very short period of
time .
And there' s one alleged police report that has
two or three witnesses in it whose names are
GOMEZ . It' s going to take me a little bit of
time just to figure out which GOMEZ is saying
what . So that just gives you one little aspect
about some of the difficulties involved in this .
However, with that continuance, I think we can
perhaps narrow some of these issues and if we
have to have a hearing, then let it be done
in a way that has been the past practice of this
city in other similar respects .
Thank you, CHAIRMAN and members .
JIM SIVELLE : BILL?
BILL LEMANN: MR. BARLOW, do we have the ability to continue
this hearing?
DENNIS BARLOW: You certainly would have the legal right to
continue, certainly. But you may want to check
and see what the city' s position is on that .
BILL LEMANN: During the period it would be continued, if it
were to be continued, would Loma Linda Towing
then be suspended from operating?
DENNIS BARLOW: No, no. This is a predetermination hearing.
It' s before they are suspended.
HUSTON CARLYLE: MR. CHAIRMAN?
JIM SIVELLE: Yes, please .
HUSTON CARLYLE : If I may, my name is HUSTON CARLYLE . I 'm a senior
assistant city attorney in the city attorney' s
office in San Bernardino.
The termination letter was dated March 19 of this
year and hand delivered on that occasion. Within
26 hours of the delivery of the termination
letter, Loma Linda Towing filed a notice of
appeal ; specifically, it was filed March 20th, the
next day at 1 : 17 in the afternoon.
We did not file the appeal for them the very next
day. They filed it on their own. They were given
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one week' s notice in which to file the appeal .
Within one week, both MR. WENZEL and
MR. GOMEZ received a letter from the recorded
secretary of this commission informing them as to
the hearing date . A packet was sent out to the
commissioners, as well as to the Loma Linda Towing
principals, containing various documentation.
In the privacy issue area and the confidentiality
area, certain parts of various reports were what
we called redacted so that there would be no
breach of confidentiality.
We don' t intend to call the witnesses who were the
victims, if you will for a moment, of any incident
because that would, in effect, give away the
confidentiality that was created when their names
and addresses and telephone numbers were redacted
to begin with.
This is a pretermination hearing. This is not a
court of law. We are not seeking to revoke the
conditional use permit but rather to terminate the
agreement with Loma Linda Towing which, according
to Paragraph 12 of the agreement, is a
nonexclusive franchise .
We do not feel that a delay is appropriate given
the nature of the charges . This matter,
hypothetically, should it be heard tonight and
decided against Loma Linda Towing, gives them
the right to appeal to the common counsel .
Now, if the matter is postponed for a month
and should they not prevail at a hearing in
May, then they would appeal and would be before
the common council in June. Now, this is April 8,
and we' re not talking in essence about a one-month
delay before a final resolution. Hypothetically,
we' re talking a 60-day delay. During the entire
time, Loma Linda Towing would be able to conduct
business presumably in the manner that resulted
in the city bringing this termination letter in
the first place .
So, with all due respect to MR. LIGHTBURN, we
would oppose any continuance keeping in mind
that the earliest this matter is going to go
to the common council, should the commission hear
this matter tonight and decide tonight, is the
first meeting in May.
The common council' s next meeting is next Monday,
a week from tonight, and that does not afford
enough time should Loma Linda Towing be
unsuccessful tonight for the appeal to be
perfected before the common council . So we' re
already looking at a May date at the earliest for
the matter to be resolved if it ' s appealed.
A delay of a month actually means a delay of two
months before there' s any final resolution from
this evening.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Your Honor, I must respond to some of that because
I don' t know what MR. CARLYLE' s talking about when
he talks about the victims . I don' t even know
what charge that' s related to . Is it related to
the car who had some rims stolen from it? The
person, as I understand it, who makes these
statements wasn' t the owner of the car, doesn' t
have any standing in this at all .
But he' s representing--MR. CARLYLE' S representing
to you that this is a victim. Now this has not
been looked at very thoroughly, I believe, by his
office or this department . And to suggest that
you could have a fair and a valid hearing even
coming close to the merits of some of this without
any preparation without even knowing this is the
first one that' s come down the pike . There' s no
precedent for what_ we' re doing, except what was
negotiated with the association.
Now I think it really makes a question of fairness
to everybody in this, including the commission
who' s asked to make a decision that materially
affects my client .
And I don' t know what the big rush is,
MR. CARLYLE, you and the department and the city
has had since 12-26 to do something about it .
We've had at best two weeks . The first complaint
that ' s in these charges goes back to December
26th. A complaint made by a person who did not
own any vehicle that' s subject to this complaint,
even if it is true .
I' d say that' s pretty shallow work to present in
a packet where he says you've been given all this
information. I have no documentation that says
you were given anything, let alone what you were
given.
So I think we need to be a little more open about
this . And I think we need to take a month, and
let' s spell out what a fair process is; and let' s
see what the agreement--MR. CARLYLE wasn' t at that
table--and we recognize, those of us there, that
there were certain things we' d have to go back to
later on. This may be one of them. Certainly is
no precedent in terms of the process .
JIM SIVELLE : MR. LEMANN?
BILL LEMANN: MR. LIGHTBURN, are you prepared to go forward
with this hearing tonight?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: No, sir.
BILL LEMANN: So if the continuance is not granted, you' re not
prepared to--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I'm going to do the best I can, COMMISSIONER
LEMANN, under what I think are some real
difficult circumstances . And I think it' s
unnecessary. I think it' s unwarranted. And what
I hear is we' re going to have hearsay upon
hearsay with unspecified witnesses that we won' t
even be able to determine really what their
standing is, let alone the veracity and what they
may have to say. But we' ll do our best . ,
JIM SIVELLE : COMMISSIONER GREEN?
(End of tape #1)
JOHN LIGHTBURN: --say that you have sent these to the commission?
NEW SPEAKER: Yes .
NEW SPEAKER: They' re public documents . What do you mean you
can' t disclose those to us?
NEW SPEAKER: You've got them all . I don' t know what I've got .
JIM SIVELLE : If I might call the meeting back to order again,
please . I think MR. LIGHTBURN and MR. WENZEL, if
you are representing him should have presented you
with all of the documents that were sent to the
commission like he has them all in his possession.
And if you haven' t reviewed them or if you can' t
find them, we' ll supply you with other copies of
them.
I think that in order to get this hearing
completed at a reasonable hour, we should proceed.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: In what manner, sir?
JIM SIVELLE : In the manner that we normally do and that is
taking the testimony from SERGEANT ARAGON, as
we' re doing now.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: That' s what--well , there' s no precedent for that .
But go ahead. Just trying to save some time, but
we' re going to slug through this, trust me .
HUSTON CARLYLE : SERGEANT ARAGON, Exhibit C is a two-page
document, vehicle report with the second page
being a computer printout .
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Are you familiar with Exhibit C?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes, I am.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Would you please indicate to the commission the
gist of the contents of Exhibit C?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Can we address all three of them?
HUSTON CARLYLE : No, no. We' ll just take Exhibit C, first of
all .
SERGEANT ARAGON: This is--it' s a case where somebody called for a
tow and it took too long for the tow driver to
get there .
Unfortunately, page 2 isn' t attached to this, so
I can' t tell you how long it took.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Okay.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I'm still not clear as to what Exhibit C is .
SERGEANT ARAGON: This one right here .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: This is Exhibit C?
SGT. ARAGON: Go ahead, MR. CARLYLE. I'm sorry.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Exhibit D is a one-page computer printout with
the date of February 27, 1996, at the top.
SERGEANT ARAGON: Right .
HUSTON CARLYLE: Have you seen that document before,
SERGEANT ARAGON?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes .
NEW SPEAKER: Would you please explain to the commission what
that document represents and what information is
contained in it .
SERGEANT ARAGON: This is the one from 2-27?
HUSTON CARLYLE : It' s February 27th.
SERGEANT ARAGON: Okay. This is an accident that I personally was
on that we called for a tow. The tow was Loma
Linda and they didn' t get there, and I canceled
them. They showed up anyway and they were 35
minutes after the time we called them. And I
advised them they were canceled.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Why did you cancel them?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Because the man who was in the accident had had
an epileptic seizure and was standing in there
with his car and we' re supposed to have a
20-minute response time . And I couldn' t have the
people waiting any longer for the tow truck to
come .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Exhibit E is a one-page computer printout with
the date 1-31-96 .
SERGEANT ARAGON: Actually that' s D.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Pardon me?
SERGEANT ARAGON: D.
NEW SPEAKER: She had D--
NEW SPEAKER: E .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: --this has E, No. 27 . This one has D, No. 28 .
SERGEANT ARAGON: You've marked the Valencia call, the 2-27 call,
Exhibit E?
NEW SPEAKER: 2-27 is D.
SERGEANT ARAGON: 2-27--
HUSTON CARLYLE : Is D.
SERGEANT ARAGON: --is Exhibit E.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Is D.
NEW SPEAKER: Yeah.
SERGEANT ARAGON: You marked it E like Edward.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Okay. Then I- -
SERGEANT ARAGON: You want me to change it?
HUSTON CARLYLE : Yes .
SERGEANT ARAGON: Excuse me .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Because I'm trying to put them in the order that
they were covered in the letter.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Would it be safe to say, MR. CARLYLE, that the
numbers written at the bottom of the page just
the order that these documents were attached to
whatever. I mean if I put them like 27, 28 , 29,
30 , do I have the right order?
HUSTON CARLYLE : That may be . I did not put them together for
that purpose .
DENNIS BARLOW: I believe those numbers relate to the number in
the package that the commission has .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Right .
SERGEANT ARAGON: Okay. So now we' re on January 31st?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Right .
NEW SPEAKER: January 31st is a one-page computer printout .
Are you familiar with this document?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes, I am.
HUSTON CARLYLE: Would you please indicate to the commission what
is contained in that document .
SERGEANT ARAGON: This is a printout of a call that was referred to
me by the dispatch supervisor of a request that
was made from an officer in the 700 block of
San Anselmo for a tow.
Loma Linda was the rotation tow. It took them
47 minutes to get there .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Were they canceled on this one or did the people
wait until the tow showed up; do you know?
SERGEANT ARAGON: The officers wait typically, and they waited in
this case .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: That' s ridiculous .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Do you have a copy of the termination letter that
was sent to Loma Linda Towing, dated March 19,
before you, SERGEANT ARAGON?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes, I do.
HUSTON CARLYLE : I direct your attention to the second page,
Paragraph 4 , of that letter and I ask you if
you have any personal knowledge regarding the
allegation contained in Paragraph 4 .
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes, I do.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Would you please indicate to the commission
your personal knowledge relative to
Paragraph 4 of the termination letter?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I received a phone call in my office from
a girl who advised me that her vehicle had
been towed after she had been in an
accident .
HUSTON CARLYLE : And then what?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I'm waiting for CONNIE .
That she had called the tow yard and asked if
she could get her property out of her vehicle.
She was told by someone on the phone that she
would have to pay $40 to get her things out of
her vehicle.
I asked her to go to the tow yard, talk to
someone in person and make the same request;
that if they requested she pay $40 , that she
should go to a pay phone and call the police and
ask that I be sent down there .
She went down there . She talked to the manager,
MR. GOMEZ. He told her she had to pay $40 to
look at or retrieve anything from her car.
She called the police and I responded.
HUSTON CARLYLE : I'm sorry. I didn' t catch the last part . Did
you respond?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I responded personally.
HUSTON CARLYLE : And what occurred when you responded?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I went to the office with her and asked
MR. GOMEZ what the problem was . He told me she
had to pay $40 to look at her car.
I asked him if this was common practice . He
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told me that the tow company charges everyone
who wants to look at their car or retrieve
anything from it $40 .
I told him he absolutely could not do that .
And I might add this was verified through
your office and also through the California
Highway Patrol who makes the master contract
for these tow companies .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Was this person attempting to take her vehicle
off the lot or was she trying to just merely
get something from the vehicle?
SERGEANT ARAGON: No . She was just retrieving her--the car was
totaled, completely totaled. She was retrieving
her personal property from the car..
So I advised MR. GOMEZ he could not do that and
then requested that he send a driver to
accompany me to their off site which is in the
700 block of S . Lugo behind the magnum range
where I stood by while she retrieved her
property.
HUSTON CARLYLE : I am now going to hand you--let' s see . If I can
get the right numbers, it' ll make it easier for
the--a three-page document identified as
Exhibit F. It would be pages 29, 30, and 31 in
the documents received by you relative to an
incident which occurred on February 15, 1996 .
I ask you, Sergeant, have you seen those pages
contained in Exhibit F previously?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes, I have .
HUSTON CARLYLE: Would you please briefly describe for the
commission what is contained on those three
pages relative to an incident that occurred on
February 15 of this year.
SERGEANT ARAGON: This is an incident where a tractor trailer with
100 gallons plus of diesel fuel on it was
leaking at Highland and Del Rosa between 3 : 00
and 4 : 00 on a Friday afternoon.
The officer that responded there asked for
a tow. The next tow up was Loma Linda.
Our dispatcher called their dispatcher--the
procedure is that we tell them what we have.
We have a car that' s wrecked and we need a
flatbed or we have whatever the situation is .
So our dispatcher told their dispatcher we had
this tractor trailer that ' s leaking diesel fuel
and Loma Linda responded.
So their tow driver assessed the situation and
called for another Loma Linda tow truck. So
that tow truck arrived and assessed the
situation and decided they couldn' t handle
it, which they can' t, and rolled a big rig
tow out of Redlands .
So the intersection there was blocked for over
an hour, and our officers were tied up for over
an hour; and the fuel was leaking for over an
hour on a call that they should never have
responded to in the first place . They should
have said, "We can' t handle this, " and
rolled a different tow.
HUSTON CARLYLE: Now, why do you say they should have said that
that they can' t handle it?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Because you have to have certain equipment to
handle that kind of problem and they don' t have
that equipment .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Problem involving big rigs? Is that what you' re
saying?
SERGEANT ARAGON: And diesel fuel transfer, yes, of that
magnitude .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Now, perhaps just real briefly in conclusion,
you could indicate to the commission members
the process by which a towing company is called
to the scene, if you would. An officer arrives
on the scene of an accident . Then what would
happen next if the officer determined that a tow
was necessary?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Okay. Let me state that this is not a
circumstance that has arisen out of the new
agreement with the tow company.
I've been a sergeant for ten years . I've been
a police officer for fifteen. And during the
entirety of the time that I worked here, we
have gotten the same general service from tow
companies, and things have operated in the same
general manner with one exception. We used to
use one tow for a week at a time, then we' d
rotate them call by call .
So you go to a scene; you determine for whatever
reason that you need a tow truck. The officer
advises dispatch, "Roll me a tow. " Dispatch,
if it' s in the daytime, looks at their list of
the five rotation tows . They' re rotated in
order. So if you' re the first tow, you go
first . Then it' s the next guy' s turn. Five
times around, you come back up .
The officer tells the dispatcher what they have
so that the tow truck rolls the appropriate
equipment .
Then the dispatcher tells the tow company. The
tow company says, "Okay. We' ll be there in 20
minutes or less . "
The dispatcher advises the officer and we know
which tow company is coming, so we can fill out
our paperwork properly before they get there.
They get there . They hook up the car and they
go.
The officers are responsible for making sure
that certain things are done; for example, the
glass is swept out of the street and the ,vehicle
is collected without doing any further damage
to anybody else, and making sure that the
owner of the car knows where the car is going.
HUSTON CARLYLE : And in your experience as a sergeant involved
with this part of the process for--certainly
since the towing agreement has been in effect,
I assume you've been on tens of dozens of calls,
if you will, at either the scene of the accident
or at various tow companies?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes . I've been the traffic sergeant for the
last three years .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Okay.
ROBERT VEGA: Can I ask a question?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Sure .
ROBERT VEGA: How much time goes by between a call from
dispatch to the actual scene? How much time?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I'm sorry.
ROBERT VEGA: How much time? I mean we' re talking here about
response time . But how much before
dispatch notifies the towing company--
,
tow company.
NEW SPEAKER: Okay.
SERGEANT ARAGON: You have a computer printout , sir? I know
they' re foreign to you.
NEW SPEAKER: Yeah. Yeah.
SERGEANT ARAGON: It' ll say, "Tow requested. " And then a couple
more lines down it' ll say, "Cancel tow. " That
means that the dispatcher puts in there to
cancel that request because they took care of
that request . And then they' ll say, "Loma Linda
Tow en route . And that' s when their clock
starts ticking. When it says, "Loma Linda Tow
en route, " they have 20 minutes .
NEW SPEAKER: I believe his question is how long does it take
from requesting the tow from the scene to
ordering the tow from dispatch. Generally,
how long does that take?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Hopefully, it' s immediate . Every once in a
while they forget, but most of the time it' s
immediate .
NEW SPEAKER: So you got a bad accident and you have a car
that' s going to probably be tied up there for
investigation or whatever. Now, when does that
officer determine when that call is going to be
made? When he gets there? Or does he figure,
well, we got to investigate it . I'm going to
sit on it for a couple hours until whatever' s
done, then I' ll--
SERGEANT ARAGON: If--
NEW SPEAKER: --get a tow.
SERGEANT ARAGON: If it is--or for an example, if it' s a fatality
accident?
NEW SPEAKER: Yeah.
SERGEANT ARAGON: Those are typically a couple of hours . And
whoever' s in charge, which is a supervisor
or my traffic investigator, we' d have to do
a diagram of the scene, take photographs . And
when we have everything done that we need to do
at the scene to collect the evidence that we
need, then we call for a tow. But that still
has no bearing on when their clock starts
ticking. Their clock starts ticking when they
are told--when their dispatcher is told, "We
need a tow at this location with this kind of
equipment . "
ROBERT VEGA: So it could be possible that you
could have
P a
Y
towing operator just sitting out there for
three hours on the clock?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Never. No. We have to pay them. They have
standby time written into their contract .
ROBERT VEGA: Okay.
SERGEANT ARAGON: We don' t call them till we need them.
ROBERT VEGA: Okay. Thank you.
SERGEANT ARAGON: Okay.
MIKE MASSEY: May I ask a question, Sergeant?
You' re a supervisor in the police department?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Correct . '
MIKE MASSEY: And your in traffic? You specialize in traffic?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Correct .
MIKE MASSEY: I don' t mean to put you on the spot . But
approximately how many times have you been
involved in a situation where Loma Linda Tow
has been involved? Less than 50? More than
50? Over a period of--
SERGEANT ARAGON: Personally?
MIKE MASSEY: Yes .
SERGEANT ARAGON: An on-scene kind of thing?
MIKE MASSEY: Yes .
SERGEANT ARAGON: Probably, maybe 20 . Most of this has been
brought to my attention through memos from
officers on the street .
MIKE MASSEY: And under oath as a city supervisor in the
police department who specializes in this
area, it' s your opinion that this company
isn' t cutting the mustard?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Most definitely.
MIKE MASSEY: Thank you.
SERGEANT ARAGON: Well, let me add, MR. LIGHTBURN--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: (Inaudible) and there was problems . It
should have been stated--
SERGEANT ARAGON: Excuse me . I was at the tow yard in January
and advised MR. GOMEZ that his response time
was not even close to meeting the standards
that we have a 20-minute response time and
that they were expected to meet it .
He acknowledged that, said that he would take
care of it; he did not .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: MR. WENZEL is the owner of the towing--
DENNIS BARLOW: MR. CHAIRMAN, I believe that MR. CARLYLE was
still asking questions .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Well, I would (inaudible) some of the
commissioners may still have a couple of
inquires, if not I'm--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Yeah. We wouldn' t want to interrupt
MR. CARLYLE.
JIM SIVELLE : WALLY, did you have a question?
WALLY GREEN: No, MR. CHAIRMAN, I was just going to suggest
that somehow we not let that proceed as an
argument between the witness and
MR. LIGHTBURN.
JIM SIVELLE : Well, thank you. MR. CARLYLE, please go ahead.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Thank you.
Sergeant, I just wanted to conclude by
indicating what you had said earlier to
make sure that I understood the question
from the commissioner relative to response
time .
Are you saying that regardless of how long
a time passes before the call is made to the
dispatcher that the 20 minutes for the towing
company does not start until the dispatch call
is made to the towing company; is that correct?
SERGEANT ARAGON: That is correct .
HUSTON CARLYLE : So the police officer on the scene assesses
the situation, right or wrong, does not call
the dispatcher for three hours, and a towing
company shows up 15 minutes later. It did not
take them three hours and 15 minutes . It would
only take them 15?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Correct .
HUSTON CARLYLE : And if a police officer on the scene called
immediately for a tow, and it took 47 minutes,
then it would have taken 47 minutes for the
towing company to show; is that correct?
SERGEANT ARAGON: From the time the towing company acknowledged
they were en route, yes .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Yes . Okay.
I have nothing further at this time, members
of the commission.
JIM SIVELLE : WALLY?
WALLY GREEN: MR. CHAIRMAN, I have one question.
Going back, SERGEANT ARAGON, to your testimony
relative to the $40 charge being attempted for
the individual who wanted to get something
from the vehicle--
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes, sir.
WALLY GREEN: What was the--who was it you said you talked
to at the tow company?
SERGEANT ARAGON: MARIO GOMEZ . He' s the manager.
WALLY GREEN: What was MR. GOMEZ' s response precisely
when you inquired as to why he wanted
to charge her $40?
SERGEANT ARAGON: He said they always do.
WALLY GREEN: How did you persuade him not to?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I told him he could not do that .
WALLY GREEN: And he agreed and went along with that?
SERGEANT ARAGON: He said, "I have no problem with-- " he
was--well, he was angry.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: We think MR. GOMEZ might be able to speak
for himself .
WALLY GREEN: Well, MR. LIGHTBURN, that may be very true .
But right now I ' m questioning MRS . ARAGON.
i
JOHN LIGHTBURN: She can' t speak for MR. GOMEZ.
WALLY GREEN: She can speak to what she--to what she
personally did.
SERGEANT ARAGON: He--I can' t tell you the exact words .
He responded in a manner that that was
the way they did business . He said,
"That' s what we always do. "
WALLY GREEN: Okay. Thank you.
SERGEANT ARAGON: And I told him he couldn' t . He said he
wouldn' t do it anymore .
WALLY GREEN: Thank you, Sergeant .
JIM SIVELLE : Do you have anything, DENNIS?
Any other commissioners have any questions?
No questions?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Can I say one thing before I leave?
JIM SIVELLE: Yes, Sergeant .
SERGEANT ARAGON: My concern with this, because I 'm responsible
for these people, is that if you wreck your
car or get it towed by us for whatever
reason; and if you don' t have a driver' s license
or whatever, if you' re the bad guy or the good
guy or whatever, you get your car towed, we,
in a police uniform roll a tow. The people
who are the owners of the vehicles, the
occupants, whatever, view that as a response of
police service . And they assume that those tow
companies work for us .
These problems have all been brought to me
by complaints . I have not done a survey.
I have not done any kind of extra checking
into or anything else to see if there' s a
problem.
I have no problem with any other tow companies .
I only have a problem with this one. And the
people perceive that this is a police franchise,
and it is making us look terrible . And that' s
why we' re here .
JIM SIVELLE : Thank you, Sergeant .
Would you like to entertain a motion?
NEW SPEAKER: MR. LIGHTBURN has a question.
JIM SIVELLE : Oh, MR. LIGHTBURN?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Are we going to have a chance to talk to
SERGEANT ARAGON about any of this tonight?
JIM SIVELLE : If you' d like .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Yeah, yeah. I really would like to .
JIM SIVELLE : All right .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Please .
Sergeant, you can relax. This is going to take
a little bit of time .
You took an oath to tell the truth, and I
don' t doubt that you've told the truth.
But what about what you testified to? Did you
really have personal knowledge? Could 'you go
over your testimony and indicate to me and to
the commission what direct knowledge you have
of any of the documents and statements in
support of these charges?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I already addressed that . Do you want to
hear it again?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Yes . I sure do .
JIM SIVELLE : I think that the testimony you have given is
on tape, and I think it was very thorough.
I don' t know what MR. LIGHTBURN missed
of your testimony. I would--I don' t see any
need, MR. LIGHTBURN, for--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And what was the answer to that question, sir?
JIM SIVELLE : I don' t see any further need for--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I need an answer to the question, sir.
DENNIS BARLOW: MR. LIGHTBURN, if you ask a specific question,
s.he' ll give a specific answer.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Okay. Then let' s go A through K.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: This police report, Sergeant, could you tell us
what caused this police report to be written
and what kind of police report?
JIM SIVELLE : Identify the police report, please .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: As Exhibit C.
SERGEANT ARAGON: It' s a record of a vehicle being impounded.
JIM SIVELLE : It ' s February 27th.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And the reason this vehicle was impounded
SERGEANT ARAGON: It' s from February 3rd.
SERGEANT ARAGON: It was for expired registration.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: This was for an expired registration? And
what happens to a vehicle that has an
expired registration, Sergeant?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Over one year it gets impounded until it
gets registered.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And that ' s a violation of the law? And
the owner of this vehicle is whom?
Who' s the legal owner of this vehicle?
HUSTON CARLYLE : We would object to that on the grounds
it is not relevant for the purpose of
what is before the commission.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: How is someone a victim, MR. CARLYLE,
if they broke the law and we have a
document? I don' t understand who we' re
protecting here?
HUSTON CARLYLE: The purpose for the introduction of
Exhibit C had to do with the response time,
plain and simple . It did not have to do with
anything else. And, therefore, if the response
time for a tow is 45 minutes by somebody who
caused a hit-and-run or was the victim of a
hit-and-run or was a drug dealer, the
response time is still 45 minutes .
What' s at issue here is the response time
and nothing else .
DICK KONKLER: Who owns a vehicle doesn' t mean a thing, JOHN.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: COMMISSIONER, I ' m simply trying to sort out
a lot of documents that look a lot alike .
DICK KONKLER: You' re trying to blow a lot of smoke in--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: No, sir. You' re prejudicing the city' s case
here . I can advise you of that . This is not a
fair hearing, in that, we can' t even get a
question asked to clarify exhibits that are
presented in an order that has just been made
known to us . Now, for crying out loud, give us
a chance .
DICK KONKLER: Well, then, can you point out what difference
it makes who owns the car--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I'm trying to relate this to--
DICK KONKLER: --as far as the response time is concerned?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: --the charges .
DICK KONKLER: MR. CHAIRMAN, there' s an objection to the
question, I believe . And so you get to
rule on that whether or not you should
allow that question as irrevelent . That' s
the objection.
JIM SIVELLE : The objection is sustained.
WAYNE HARP : MR. SIVELLE, can we take a brief break so that
CONNIE can check the tape and perhaps we' ll
relax her hand for a second?
JIM SIVELLE: Yeah, sure . We' ll take a two-minute break,
CONNIE.
(Break was taken)
JIM SIVELLE : How many more minutes will you need,
MR. LIGHTBURN?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Okay, Sergeant, we' ll just take these in order.
This report that has been introduced into
evidence as Exhibit B is your testimony that this
statement is in support of that charge to
relating to some stolen rims; is that correct?
SERGEANT ARAGON: (Inaudible)
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And which officer wrote this report?
SERGEANT ARAGON: MAGILL.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: OFFICER MAGILL.
DENNIS BARLOW: SERGEANT ARAGON, could you speak a little bit
louder so we make sure to get it recorded?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And I'm not that familiar with this report
form. Could you explain to me and perhaps
the commission what this form is and how it
comes about to being created?
i
SERGEANT ARAGON: As I stated before, it' s part of a report
and this is the written narrative that is
recorded by the officer, typed by a
stenographer and made part of the case file .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And there' s more that goes with the report than
what is in this exhibit?
i
SERGEANT ARAGON: There' s more particular information about the
victim.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And who is the victim in this case?
HUSTON CARLYLE : We would object to that again on the grounds
that it is not relevant . The issue is
whether or not a theft occurred. It is
immaterial as to who owned the rims or
vehicle upon which was visited the alleged
theft .
JIM SIVELLE : Question sustained.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Sergeant, it says this is not a theft report
then; is that correct?
SERGEANT ARAGON: It is part of a theft report .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And who filed that theft report and could you
give us the are report number of that, please?
SERGEANT ARAGON: It' s 95-62793 . And it was filed by the owner
of the vehicle.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And is it your testimony that you know as a
fact that the statement of this name GOMEZ
informed me--now, that is--who' s GOMEZ?
SERGEANT ARAGON: The victim.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, I thought we weren' t supposed to discuss
the name of the victim?
SERGEANT ARAGON: This part that' s blacked out is the victim' s
entire name, address, phone number, and
particulars that don' t need to be released
because it' s not pertinent to what is going
on.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And this GOMEZ is, indeed, the legal owner of the
I
vehicle? Is that your testimony?
SERGEANT ARAGON: She has a right to possess the vehicle because
she was collecting vehicle .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: No. I said legal ownership .
SERGEANT ARAGON: I can' t answer that .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: You can' t answer it or you won' t answer it?
You either know or you don' t know.
Sergeant, is that the legal owner of the
vehicle?
SERGEANT ARAGON: She is the person who has a legal right to
claim possession of the vehicle from the
tow yard. Whether or not she' s the legal
owner, I don' t know.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And this vehicle was impounded for what
reason, Sergeant?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I don' t know that, either.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: So you don' t know what it was impounded for
and you don' t know whether this individual
that gave a statement to some other officer--
SERGEANT ARAGON: OFFICER MAGILL.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: OFFICER MAGILL. You don' t know whether this
individual is the legal owner of that
vehicle or not; is that your testimony?
SERGEANT ARAGON: She' s the owner enough for us to release it
to her possession. She could be the registered
owner or the legal owner. I do not know.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Do you know whether she is either of those,
registered or legal? What legal right did she
show the police department in order to reclaim
the vehicle, if not a registered ownership or
the legal ownership?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I don' t know.
MIKE MASSEY: MR. LIGHTBURN, would you reframe for one
moment, please?
I have a question for the Chairman. If it' s
proper, I'm ready to make a motion at this time,
if you feel it' s proper.
JIM SIVELLE : I think it would be proper.
NEW SPEAKER: MR. CHAIRMAN, I recommend that we not make a
motion until MR. LIGHTBURN has more opportunity
! to present the defense in this case .
I
JIM SIVELLE : Go ahead, MR. LIGHTBURN.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, we have some reputations here, Commission,
that this person, GOMEZ, who we' re not supposed
to know is a legal owner of a vehicle and,
therefore, a victim of some alleged crime .
i
NEW SPEAKER: I think the first line of the report says that
she let a friend drive her vehicle . I think we
would assume at this time that it was her
vehicle . She made the report unless you want to
claim that possibly--
!
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I don' t know whether she means--
NEW SPEAKER: --she filed a false police report .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Excuse me . I don' t know whether she means,
SERGEANT ARAGON or whether it' s this GOMEZ,
whom we have not been able to determine and
the police department hasn' t been able t;o
determine whether it' s a legal owner or not .
It' s a little hard to know who' s making these
statements .
NEW SPEAKER: MR. CHAIRMAN, if I may?
NEW SPEAKER: But I think at the same time the point is
that the wheels and the tires were taken from
a vehicle . And it is not only alleged, but
they go to great extreme to go to another
vehicle, get wheels and tires to put on this
vehicle . So those things did happen. Now,
what do you need to prove any further than
that?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I'd like to know who the legal owner is and
who these people are that are testifying here .
NEW SPEAKER: I can' t understand what difference it makes .
The vehicle, the wheels and tires were removed
from it . As far as I 'm concerned, it doesn' t
make any difference who owned the vehicle .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, if the person--
NEW SPEAKER: But I would think certainly if the person--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: If the person who is making this statement
represents themselves to be a legal owner
i
and, therefore, a victim, that' s one thing.
But if they' re not, then that ' s another thing.
And I think there' s reason for us to
believe--we have reason to believe that that
may, indeed, be the case . But we' re not going
to be able get that here tonight because we have
no way of calling, perhaps, witnesses that would
attest to this . And, you know, you shake your
head, but there' s some serious issues here .
JIM SIVELLE : I believe, MR. LIGHTBURN, that the Chair has
ruled that that is irrevelent, that distinction.
So you might just want to go forward with
something else .
NEW SPEAKER: If you' d like to talk about some of the
violations on the first two pages, you have
Violation 1, Violation 2 , Violation 3 ,
Violation 4--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Have you talked to--
NEW SPEAKER: --Violation 5 .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Sergeant, have you talked to MR. WENZEL about
any of these charges?
SERGEANT ARAGON: No. Each time I asked for him, I was told
he was not there .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Did you ever think of, maybe, jotting a note
and sending it to MR. WENZEL?
SERGEANT ARAGON: No. I spoke to his manager.
WALLY GREEN: MR. CHAIRMAN--
JIM SIVELLE : MR. GREEN?
WALLY GREEN: I think we need to deal with the issue of
the violations . Did the violations occur or
did they not occur? I think that' s what we
need to deal with, MR. LIGHTBURN. Did the
violations occur or did the violations not
occur? That' s the issue .
NEW SPEAKER: And if MR. WENZEL would like to testify to that,
we' ll certainly listen to that .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: You see, commission, one of the problems we have
here is that MR. WENZEL had a police report
filed. Okay?
And if that' s the case, then I'm trying to
_10
determine whether this is the one that he
filed?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes, it is .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, you said it was the victim that filed.
SERGEANT ARAGON: The victim called the police when she got
down there to pick up her car. When she
talked to MARIO GOMEZ, which is on the second
page, he told her he had filed a 488 report,
which is a petty theft for less than $400 .
Her wheels were worth quite a bit more than
that . The other things occurred where they took
wheels off someone elses car, and she had
trouble getting the car back. And that' s
basically--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, how do you know her wheels were worth
more than that? Has anyone ever determined
what kind of wheels they were, whether they were
M what this individual said they were or not?
SERGEANT ARAGON: That ' s the statement in the police report .
w JOHN LIGHTBURN: And it was MR. WENZEL then that had the
report filed? And what date did you say--
SERGEANT ARAGON: No. It was MR. GOMEZ .
M
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, on behalf of Loma Linda, that was filed
12-11-95 .
Has anybody investigated that case? Did
anybody call and inquire with MR. WENZEL
or MR. GOMEZ about the facts and circumstances
surrounding that theft?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I do not know.
M JOHN LIGHTBURN: You don' t think that would be important to
find out in the handling of a crime report
as to who might be the party responsible for
this?
i
SERGEANT ARAGON: My job is not to handle crime reports . My
job is to make sure that the tow companies
are following the agreement, which is to
maintain a secure yard from which things
cannot be stolen.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Okay. And let' s talk about "maintain a
• secure yard. " What does that mean "maintain
• secure yard"? How? Does that mean that if
r
i
any tow truck operator has some theft on site
that their yard is insecure? What standards
do we use?
SERGEANT ARAGON: There are no thefts from the other (inaudible)
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And how do you know that, Sergeant?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I ran printouts, which are (inaudible) of the
thefts from your yards . There was one theft
in one tow yard out of all the five, except
for the ones from Loma Linda Tow.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And, of course, those are just reported thefts;
is that correct?
SERGEANT ARAGON: That' s what we base our statistics . on.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Arid you say that that was in what document that
you have? You cited some--
SERGEANT ARAGON: Your pack.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: That' s in my packet that has--
,
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yeah.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: --that has the--and that' s exhibit what? I mean
is it an exhibit or isn' t it?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I don' t know.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, if you don' t know, then how on earth can
I know?
So we don' t know who--we don' t know for a fact,
in any way, shape, or form, who may or may not
have stolen rims worth $40, $400, or $900? We
don' t really have made that determination;
is that correct?
SERGEANT ARAGON: MR. WENZEL' S not being accused of the theft .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, what--
SERGEANT ARAGON: The problem is that the yard is not secure
and things are stolen from--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Okay. How--
SERGEANT ARAGON: --this yard.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: What is it about his yard that makes his yard
any less secure than any of the other four tow
f
operators?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I don' t think we have time here for a crime
prevention lesson, but I can--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I know. It' s very simple . I want to know
what standard we use to determine what is a
safe and secure facility that is the same
for all the tow operators .
SERGEANT ARAGON: Whether or not thefts occur?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Are you familiar with the condition to use
permit process here in the city, Sergeant?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes, I am.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And are you familiar with the Development
Review Committee?
i
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes, I am.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And tell us who comprises that membership
on the Development Review Committee .
SERGEANT ARAGON: I, myself, was a member of that committee--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Okay.
SERGEANT ARAGON: --for several years .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, the commissioners may not know.
SERGEANT ARAGON: Do you want to hear this?
It' s people that are representatives of all
the departments in the city that approve new
buildings or updated building, that make sure
that people are within the code--
JIM SIVELLE : Sergeant, could you use the mike?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Sure . Do you want me to repeat it?
JIM SIVELLE : How far back, JANE, did you miss?
JANE LORENZ : We' re okay from right now on.
SERGEANT ARAGON: Okay.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: So the police department has a representative .
You functioned as that . What recommendations
do the police department make regarding the
security of commercial enterprises such as a
i
I
tow operation?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Well, if I may, perhaps bring this into
perspective . When MR. WENZEL began towing
with Loma Linda Tow for the city of
San Bernardino, I was a member of the
Development Review Committee and the
Environmental Review Committee . And this
was not brought before us .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Which was not?
i
SERGEANT ARAGON: This tow yard.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: As a matter of fact, this used to be in the
unincorporated territory where Loma Linda
currently exists; is that not correct, Sergeant?
SERGEANT ARAGON: That is correct .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And--
SERGEANT ARAGON: Well, part of it is correct .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Yeah. And with an annexation MR. WENZEL was
annexed then to the City of San Bernardino;
is that correct?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I am not familiar exactly what that--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: So according to your testimony, if a person
has one incident of theft that may or may
not be their fault, that is grounds for
termination of this agreement? Is that a
fair statement?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I don' t believe I said that at all .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, I'm--
SERGEANT ARAGON: My statement is that his yard did not come
before the Development Review Committee . Had
it, it certainly would not have passed in this
present condition. And he has had several
thefts from his yard.
(End of Tape #2)
NEW SPEAKER: --About it . We've had at best two weeks .
The first complaint that' s in these charges
goes back to December 26th, a complaint
made by a person who did not own any
vehicle that' s subject to this complaint,
even if it is true . And I ' d say that' s
pretty shallow work to present in a packet
where he says you've been given all this
information. I have no documentation
that says you were given anything, let
alone what you were given.
So I think we need to be a little more open
about this . And I think we need to take a
month and let' s spell out what a fair
process is, and let ' s see what the
agreement--MR. CARLYLE wasn' t at that table .
And we recognize, those of us there, that
there were certain things that we' d have
to go back to later on. This may be one
of them. It certainly is no precedent
in terms of the process .
JIM SIVELLE : MR. LEMANN?
BILL LEMANN: MR. LIGHTBURN, are you prepped to go forward
with this hearing tonight?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: No, sir.
BILL LEMANN: So if the continuance is to be granted,
you' re not prepared to--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I'm going to do the best I can,
COMMISSIONER LEMAN, under what I think are some
real difficult circumstances . And I think it' s
unnecessary. I think it' s unwarranted. And
what I hear is we' re going to have hearsay upon
hearsay with unspecified witnesses that we
won' t even be able to determine really what
their standing is, let alone the veracity and
what they may have to say. But we' ll do our
best .
JIM SIVELLE : COMMISSIONER GREEN?
NEW SPEAKER: I have a question.
NEW SPEAKER: Is your microphone on, sir?
NEW SPEAKER: MR. CHAIRMAN, if it is the decision of this
body to continue this hearing for one
month, I need to know in my own mind--I
heard the city attorney at the city
administrator' s office say that they
do not anticipate calling any witnesses .
I 'm assuming from MR. LIGHTBURN' s comments that
if it is continued, they do intend to call
i
witnesses; is that true MR. LIGHTBURN?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: That is one of the considerations we wish
to have in options--we wish to have open to
US .
NEW SPEAKER: Now, my next--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Certainly, somebody' s going to have to testify
as to what these documents are and what they
mean and what information is blacked out and
why. I can' t believe that no one' s going to
testify in support of any of these documents
or allegations .
HUSTON CARLYLE : It became quite clear to me when I received
this package and went through this .entire
packet as to why these items were blacked
out as he indicated. I guess there' s a
certain amount of confidentiality involved.
So to me that' s not an issue . I think the issue
is quite clear in this police report as to who
they' re talking about, who is who?
Now, I'm not suggesting that you agree ;with
that, and I assume that that' s why you want to
call your witnesses . But I think who you' re
talking about and who' s being talked about
in this report is quite clear. I don' t think
there' s any confusion there at all .
But, anyway, those are just my comments . And
I don'It know what the rest of the commissioners'
decisions are going to be .
NEW SPEAKER: Just as a matter of clarification, MR. CHAIRMAN,
I don' t believe that MR. CARLYLE indicated
that he wasn' t going to call witnesses . I think
he indicated he was not going to call
"the victims . "
HUSTON CARLYLE: I'm sorry. That is correct . I'm sorry.
JIM SIVELLE: LUIS?
NEW SPEAKER: Excuse me . With that clarification,
MR. CARLYLE, do you intend to call the officer
that put together this report?
HUSTON CARLYLE: I have two people behind me who are prepared
to testify. One is an investigator with the
city attorney' s office, and another one is a
police sergeant with the San Bernardino
Police Department who operates in the traffic
area and is knowledgeable about some of the
allegations which we have set forth in our
termination letter. Yes, sir.
NEW SPEAKER: My concern is, you know, if the facts of this
report are true--and that ' s what the public
hearing is all about to find out whether or not
they are true--if the facts of this report are
true, then you got one set of circumstances .
If they' re not, then it' s something else . So
how you get to that is not a question.
JIM SIVELLE : LUIS?
LUIS LOPEZ : Yes . One of the questions I have is do
any other options--right now what' s on the
table either if we have the hearing and we were
to rule against the--I forgot what his name is
Mr. --
NEW SPEAKER: Loma Linda Towing.
LUIS LOPEZ : Yes . Loma Linda Towing. Then are their rights
terminated automatically, or do they continue
on till the city counsel hearing? MR. BARLOW,
if you could answer that .
DENNIS BARLOW: If you decide that to uphold the city' s letter
of termination, they would then have a right
to appeal to city counsel .
LUIS LOPEZ : Okay.
DENNIS BARLOW: And they would continue to operate until that is
finally determined.
LUIS LOPEZ : Okay. And the other question I have for
MR. (inaudible) is I understand this is
probably the livelihood of the towing company.
We' re talking about some serious offenses
that if they are true, it could lead to some
serious consequences like terminating the
agreement .
So I 'm a little concerned about this, maybe,
I don' t know if it' s lack of due process or
not but about having the time to prepare for a
hearing. Being an attorney myself, I understand
we just need to prepare and the client comes
at the last minute . So I'm bringing in as a
personal note just so you know that that' s the
way things happen sometimes . And for whatever
circumstances, clients do not come until the
last minute, and you don' t have time to prepare .
And under a circumstance like this, we' d really
need to be careful before we jump into
conclusions and have a hearing before providing
time to prepare .
NEW SPEAKER: MR. CHAIRMAN- -
JIM SIVELLE : However, MR. WENZEL did file a notice of appeal
that was timely. I think that he must have
at that time felt that he was ready to come
before this counsel .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, that' s not necessarily the only conclusion
that could be drawn from that MR. CHAIRMAN.
Let me give you a for instance, a document there
from a J. MONTECINO to SERGEANT JENNIFER ARAGON,
just the last statement in this .
Attached is the computer printout PORTER gave me
on 2-1S and another with the completed call . We
don' t have that printout, and that' s. not part of
the record. Since I understand there have been
difficulties in dealing with Loma Linda Tow,
perhaps you can use this . I' d kind of dike to
know and be able to discuss this document with
the author. I think it' s very important if
we' re going to have a hearing to bring everybody
in that' s been involved in it .
And MR. GREEN, I'm sorry. I didn' t mean to
suggest that I didn' t know what was blacked out
in these . I can assume what it was, but as a
point, we really don' t know. And we don' t
know if this person who made these statements
is not, indeed, the owner of the vehicle or the
victim, whether there' s any protection
privilege .
These are some of the difficult issues that were
faced by having to go forward in this manner.
NEW SPEAKER: MR. CHAIRMAN?
JIM SIVELLE : Yes, sir.
HUSTON CARLYLE: We cannot--let us assume for a moment that
whenever the hearing is held relative to
Loma Linda Towing without in any way attempting
to prejudice the commission, the commission
rules against Loma Linda Towing. The commission
then--excuse me . Loma Linda Towing then has a
right to appeal .
If the hearing were held tonight, that appeal
could not be heard before the common counsel
until the first meeting in May, which I believe
is May 6th, the first Monday.
Now, the city' s viewpoint is that it does not
wish under any circumstances to lose that
May 6th date before the common counsel as
a result of the action it has brought .
If the commission--and I appreciate the fact the
commission regularly meets only once a month,
but I'm not aware of anything that might
preclude a special meeting of the commission
for the purpose of this one item only in terms
of a hearing--if the commission were to have a
special hearing two weeks from tonight,
April 22--it' s not a city counsel meeting--with
the understanding that whatever the decision was
it was rendered that evening.
It' s my understanding that the ten days within
which to appeal that decision commences on the
evening of April 22 . I would certainly, defer
to your counsel to that regard. If that were
the case, then it could be on the common counsel
agenda for May 6th, because the last day in
which to file an appeal by the losing side
would be May 2 .
Again, we feel confident of the legality of
our position. We are willing to proceed
tonight . But I don' t want to give the
impression that we are totally of one mind
set other than we do not want to lose a
month which is what it would be if this were
continued for one month before the common
counsel who eventually hear it .
So assuming that my assumptions are correct--and
I would certainly defer to MR. BARLOW- we
would not be opposed to a two-week continuance
for the purpose of a special meeting for this
one hearing only as a way to move it forward
without us losing the potential of the appeal
before the common counsel .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: MR. CHAIRMAN, I don' t understand losing the
month what bearing that has on this city.
MR. CARLYLE said that it is the city' s position.
Now, I need to understand from MR. CARLYLE
whether he is representing the position taken
by the mayor and common counsel or which city are
i
we talking about, MR. CARLYLE? And are we just
talking about the city attorney' s policy? I
just think we need to know before we go on on
i
that path.
And a two-week continuance is something we would
agree to and a special hearing we would hope
that it might be held so there' s enough time .
But I don' t know why MR. CARLYLE is so insistent
upon losing a month, as opposed to my client
losing several hundreds of thousands of dollars
for something that he may not have been
responsible for. I think it' s something that--
HUSTON CARLYLE : MR. CHAIRMAN, I don' t pretend--I don' t intend
to belabor the point . I would indicate that the
contract indicates on page 5 that correspondence
to the city is to the city administrator' s
office, and it was, in fact, the city
administrator' s office that sent the termination
letter.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, that doesn' t answer my question,
MR. CARLYLE.
HUSTON CARLYLE: I don' t choose to debate at this point in time,
MR. CHAIRMAN.
JIM SIVELLE : CARL?
CARL CLEMONS : Could I ask maybe two questions? One, would two
weeks give you enough time to prepare yourself
to appeal the decision that has been brought
forth?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Yes, sir. Two weeks would be ample time .
NEW SPEAKER: Before we get into a decision like that,
do you want to--
CARL CLEMONS : No. I just asked.
JIM SIVELLE : --see if the commission would want to meet again
in two weeks? Maybe that might be an impossible
task also.
NEW SPEAKER: May I ask a question, a very basic question--
JIM SIVELLE: Please do.
NEW SPEAKER: --to MR. CARLYLE? Is the reason the appeal
comes to us because this was a police department
matter? It seems like it' s a simple matter of
of termination.
r.
HUSTON CARLYLE : The agreement provides on the bottom of page 3 ,
top of page 4 , Paragraph 5 of the agreement
that the agreement may be terminated by the
city upon 30 days' written notice providing
the right to pretermination hearing before the
police commission. So it is Paragraph 5 of the
agreement for tow services that directs the
30-day notice . Should there be a request for
appeal by the towing company in question, it
is to be heard before the police commission.
NEW SPEAKER: One more question.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Yes, sir.
NEW SPEAKER: In essence, what you' re telling us is if we
deny the appeal, they would automatically, if
they want to take it to a higher body.
HUSTON CARLYLE : That is correct .
NEW SPEAKER: So in essence, they' re going to get a better
hearing with a higher body with more authority.
NEW SPEAKER: Exactly.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Well, I prefer not to couch it in those terms .
But if the losing side appeals, it would be
heard by the common counsel .
NEW SPEAKER: I 'm trying to figure out what the advantage
would be for MR. LIGHTBURN in going
to two hearings if possible .
NEW SPEAKER: I think he' s entitled to have two hearings
by the law. You can speculate in your own way
whether two hearings are good are for him or one
hearing.
NEW SPEAKER: But the question before the commission now is
whether or not to grant his request for a
continuance . That' s the question you' re looking
at right now.
LUIS LOPEZ : I 'm prepared to make a motion to continue the
hearing until April 22nd conditioned on the
commission being able to meet . If the
commission is not able to meet, then I move
that we continue the hearing until the next
regular meeting to provide Loma Linda Towing
ample time to be prepared.
NEW SPEAKER: Could I suggest that' s a hard motion to vote
on. That you make one or the other of those
motions and the commission will decide whether
or not they can meet that night by voting
yes or no.
LUIS LOPEZ : Okay. Then I ' ll change it just to half of the
motion that we continue the hearing until
April 22nd.
NEW SPEAKER: At 6 : 30 .
LUIS LOPEZ : At 6 : 30 .
JIM SIVELLE : Is there a second to that motion?
NEW SPEAKER: I' ll second it .
JIM SIVELLE : Question? All those in favor?
NEW SPEAKERS : Aye . Aye .
JIM SIVELLE : A show of hands please?
NEW SPEAKER: I' ll vote in favor provided I don' t know that
I could be here .
JANE LORENZ : That' s the whole thing. I don' t know.
JIM SIVELLE : Those opposed?
JANE LORENZ : I'm abstaining.
JIM SIVELLE: Two, three, four, five . It' s denied.
JANE LORENZ : I suggest that we have the names of ayes and noes
on record.
JIM SIVELLE : CONNIE, did you get all the names?
JANE LORENZ : You got us all, CONNIE.
NEW SPEAKER: Either get on with the hearing or deny the
request .
NEW SPEAKER: Well, I think he had another motion to offer.
JIM SIVELLE : All right . Then we' ll go on with the hearing.
Okay?
NEW SPEAKER: Some MR. SIVELLE, you have to remember CONNIE
is taking this down in shorthand. She' s not a
court reporter. So you got to slow down the
process just a little bill .
JANE LORENZ : She has us spoiled.
NEW SPEAKER: CONNIE, did you get all the names?
NEW SPEAKER: She' s never failed us yet .
JANE LORENZ : That' s right .
CONNIE : In favor of the motion was COMMISSIONER VEGA,
COMMISSIONER LOPEZ, COMMISSIONER LEMAN.
Opposed, COMMISSIONER KONKLER,
COMMISSIONER MASSEY, COMMISSIONER LORENZ,
COMMISSIONER GREEN, and COMMISSIONER SIVELLE.
Is that correct?
NEW SPEAKER: And there' s an abstention.
JANE LORENZ : I abstained.
CONNIE : Okay.
NEW SPEAKER: MR. CHAIRMAN, if I may, I believe we had a
second motion in case that one failed.
LUIS LOPEZ : Yes, I do. My motion is that we continue
this hearing until the next regular meeting
to provide the Lorna Linda Towing ample time
to prepare .
JIM SIVELLE : Is there a second to that motion?
NEW SPEAKER: I ' ll second that .
JIM SIVELLE : Is there a second to that?
NEW SPEAKER: I' ll second that .
JIM SIVELLE : Okay.
JIM SIVELLE: Any call for the question?
NEW SPEAKER: On the question, normal procedures, you have a
denial, then you have a notice of appeal .
Time of notice of appeal, isn' t that adequate
time to prepare yourself before coming to the
commission? If it is not time, is there a
procedure for you to follow to request an
extension before it comes to the commission?
Are you following my question?
JANE LORENZ : I am.
NEW SPEAKER: Uh-huh.
HUSTON CARLYLE : I am. Let me respond by saying that the
hand delivered letter signed by the
assistant city administrator spelled out
five violations other than Violation
NEW SPEAKER:SPEAKER: Those are alleged violations .
NEW SPEAKER: Please, I can only concentrate on one at
a time .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Other than Paragraph #1, the other items
were date specific and paragraph specific
as it ties to the agreement . The response filed
by Loma Linda Towing the next day in its notice
of appeal indicated that the specific grounds
of appeal "in correction of violations . "
Now, again I would respectfully indicate
to the commission that Loma Linda Towing was
given one week in which to appeal, if it
chose to do so . It appealed in one day.
You can draw your own conclusions as to
their readiness, but that' s something that
we could discuss at another time .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: MR. WENZEL owns the tow company, ladies and
gentlemen. I don' t think any inference should be
drawn from that, other than he didn' t want to
fall prey of any time limits .
HUSTON CARLYLE: It says here this agreement may be terminated
by the city. I find nowhere else in this
agreement where the city authorizes anybody to
do that . It seems to me, plain reading, that
means the city counsel . Maybe like another
contract we had that could be canceled by the
city.
I would suggest for MR. LIGHTBURN that since
the common counsel is the appeal body to which
an adverse decision rendered, for that same
body to terminate the agreement before it has
even heard the appeal from the planning
commission is somewhat incongruous . The
agreement refers to the city as the city
administrator' s office . And that was the proper
party that affected the process .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Only for which things are to be sent . If you' ll
recall, MR. CARLYLE, I said there were
provisions of this agreement that were not
totally thought out and not everything was
contemplated when the parties signed off on
this agreement . This is but one example of
some of the ambiguities or omissions in this
i
agreement that makes it difficult to handle
this case in this manner.
JIM SIVELLE : CONNIE, we have a motion on the floor. Would
you read the motion and the second, please?
CONNIE: Yes .
Motion was to continue the hearing until the
regular meeting to provide Loma Linda Towing
ample time to prepare .
JIM SIVELLE : I assume that was also at 6 : 30?
NEW SPEAKER: Yes . The regular meeting
CONNIE : At 6 :30 .
NEW SPEAKER: At the regular meeting.
JIM SIVELLE : Are you ready for the question?
NEW SPEAKER: I have a question.
JIM SIVELLE : Okay. ,
NEW SPEAKER: Is MR. I.IGHTBURN a la%nyer?
NEW SPEAKER: Are you a lawyer?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: No. I'm proud to say I am not a lawyer. No
offense to perhaps the members of the bar. I
only say that in that there are some advantages
of not being.
NEW SPEAKER: I thought the law of California said that you had
to be a lawyer to represent somebody in a case
like this .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I'm a trained paralegal . I've worked with
numerous attorneys in this town and Los Angeles .
No. There is no requirement that I have to be
a lawyer. I've handled administrative hearings
for alcohol licenses with the state of
California--
NEW SPEAKER: MR. LIGHTBURN--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: --employee relations hearings that are
evidentiary, etc . , etc . etc.
NEW SPEAKER: MR. LIGHTBURN is correct on that point .
NEW SPEAKER: Okay.
JIM SIVELLE : All those in favor of the motion, raise your
hand, please .
Those opposed?
Next is to go on with the appeal .
Get all those, CONNIE?
LUIS LOPEZ : It may seem a little bit inappropriate, but I
have to leave . I have another important meeting
that I 'm half an hour late for. And I'm half an
hour late, and it' s just as important that I go
to that meeting. I apologize . But at least I
tried to continue . Thank you.
JIM SIVELLE : Do you want Mr. CARLYLE to put on his
presentation first?
NEW SPEAKER: Yes, MR. CHAIRMAN. That is normally .the process
so that he outlines what the city position is .
JIM SIVELLE : Okay.
HUSTON CARLYLE : I 'm ready at the commission' s pleasure .
JIM SIVELLE : Okay. Please .
HUSTON CARLYLE: On March 19 of this year the assistant city
administrator caused a hand delivered letter
to be sent to Loma Linda Towing detailing five
areas from the city' s prospective violations
relative to the agreement entered into between
Loma Linda Towing and the City of San Bernardino.
What I'd like to do is to offer as Exhibit A
at this time a copy of the agreement for tow
services and I would give it to the recording
secretary. It' s all been included in your
packet .
For identification purposes this agreement
consists of six pages with the sixth page being
the signature on behalf of the City of
San Bernardino by the mayor and Loma Linda Towing
carrier.
So I would give this to the recording secretary.
I believe MR. LIGHTBURN has a copy. It was
included in the packet sent to MR. WENZEL.
I do have an extra copy if he does not have one .
NEW SPEAKER: This is the agreement dated July 27th.
HUSTON CARLYLE : That is correct . July 27 of last year, 1995 .
I would like to call MR. DAVID STACHOWSKI
as the first witness on behalf of the city. And
as I understand the process, MR. STACHOWSKI would
stand at the podium over where MR. LIGHTBURN
currently is, if that' s correct .
NEW SPEAKER: MR. LIGHTBURN, if you wouldn' t mind,
MR. STACHOWSKI could stand there and--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I'm going to let DAVE stand wherever he wants .
JIM SIVELLE : CONNIE, would you administer the oath?
CONNIE : Will you stand and raise your right hand, please .
Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the
testimony that you are about to give in this
matter now pending before this board shall be the
truth, the :whole truth, and nothing but ithe
truth?
DAVID STACHOWSKI : I do.
CONNIE : Will you state and spell your name for the record
please .
DAVID STACHOWSKI : DAVID M. STAKOWSKI, S-t-a-c-h-o-w-s-k-i .
CONNIE : Thank you.
HUSTON CARLYLE : MR. STACHOWSKI, what is your current occupation?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : I'm a city attorney investigator for the City of
Sari Bernardino.
HUSTON CARLYLE : I have given you a copy of the agreement for tow
services that you have before you; is that
correct?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : Yes, sir.
HUSTON CARLYLE: Would you please read Paragraph 2A of the towing
agreement .
DAVID STAKOWSKI : "Have a minimum storage space for 200 vehicles
with a minimum of 12 inside spaces . Outside
storage lots but be adequately lighted. ,,
HUSTON CARLYLE : And who has that obligation to have the
200-vehicle space?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : The tow service .
HUSTON CARLYLE : In this case, that would be who?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : Loma Linda.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Have you had occasion to frequent the Loma Linda
premises?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : I have .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Have you done so on more than one occasion?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : Yes .
HUSTON CARLYLE : When was the most recent occasion?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : This morning.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Based upon- -strike that . For what purpose did
you view the premises?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : To ascertain if the premises met the requirements
that I just read in this agreement .
HUSTON CARLYLE : And upon your observations today and previously,
does Loma Linda Towing meet the requirements
set forth in Paragraph 2A of the agreement?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : No, sir.
HUSTON CARLYLE : In what respect do they not meet the
requirements?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : I counted--took a rough count today of the
vehicles that were inside that yard, and there
were approximately 75 hood, front bumper to rear
bumper. I would conservatively estimate that not
more than 100 vehicles could be placed in that
lot .
For inside storage, the only thing I observed
obviously this premises was a gas station at one
time . There are two doors for automobiles to
enter the garage. The most vehicles that could
be stored inside would be four, if that, if they
would fit inside .
Relative to lighting, it was daytime, and I
couldn' t testify to that .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Just so I understand, it' s your testimony then
that the location of Loma Linda Towing, I
believe you said what, at the most could house
100 vehicles?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : Yes, sir.
HUSTON CARLYLE : And from the inside spaces, at the most, house
4 vehicles?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : Yes, sir.
HUSTON CARLYLE : I have nothing further, members of the
commission. I don' t know what your process
is if you have questions from the other side
i
at this point in time or some other time .
JIM SIVELLE: MR. LIGHTBURN, do you have any questions?
i
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Excuse me, Dave .
Yes, MR. CHAIRMAN. Just bear with me here
a second.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: MR. STACHOWSKI, are you familiar with all the
teziris and conditions of this agreement eor tow
services?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : No, sir.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Did you inquire of MR. WENZEL or anybody else
whether or not all those spaces have to be
provided at one specific site within the city?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : I never had a correction with MR. WENZEL.
And I am going by what I read in this
agreement here .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Is there anything that says that all those
200 spaces and the 12 cover spaces that they
have to be at one particular site? Is there
anywhere in this agreement or any other
resolution of the city or any other document
that says that?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : I don' t know. I haven' t read this whole
agreement . I' d have to take the time to do
that .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: So then it is possible that MR. WENZEL could
comply with these provisions by simply having
additional space left elsewhere within the city;
is that possible?
DAVID STAKOWSKI : I can not answer that question.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: We don' t have any further questions of
MR. STACHOWSKI at this time, your Honor.
I might wish to talk to him a little later.
JIM SIVELLE : Thank you.
HUSTON CARLYLE : I would call SERGEANT JENNIFER ARAGON as the
city' s next witness .
WALLY GREEN: Excuse me, MR. CHAIRMAN, before the next witness
proceeds, I have a question.
JIM SIVELLE : Yes, WALLY.
WALLY GREEN: Is it appropriate for commissioners to ask
questions of the city administrator' s office
during these proceedings, or do we have to wait
until the public hearing is closed?
JIM SIVELLE : No. Any time . Any time .
WALLY GREEN: Okay. I just had a question relative to one
of the questions that MR. LIGHTBURN asked the
investigator.
JIM SIVELLE : Go ahead.
WALLY GREEN: Has MR. WENZEL notified the city administrator' s
office of another location?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: That might be something better asked of the
representative from Loma Linda Towing because
I think what we' re going to get into is what
existed at the time the agreement was actually
entered into; what exists now in terms of plans
versus what exists in terms of the legal right
to put cars on property.
JIM SIVELLE : Would you want to ask that of MR. WENZEL?
WALLY GREEN: Well, we can wait until he is sworn.
JIM SIVELLE: Okay.
WALLY GREEN: SERGEANT ARAGON should be sworn as well .
CONNIE: Will you raise your right hand, please .
Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the
testimony that you are about to give in this
matter now pending before this board shall be the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
��re -- rr�rni un
truth?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I do .
CONNIE : Will you, please, state and spell your name
for the record.
SERGEANT ARAGON: SERGEANT JENNIFER ARAGON, A-r-a-g-o-n.
CONNIE : Thank you.
HUSTON CARLYLE : I ' m going to hand to SERGEANT ARAGON a
document which I have marked as Exhibit B .
It is a five-page police report identified at the
top of each page by the number 95-62793 . It is
a document which has been redacted in part, which
I believe all of the commission members and again
Loma Linda Towing has received.
SERGEANT ARAGON, I ask you have you ever seen
that document before?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes, I have .
HUSTON CARLYLE: Are you familiar with the information cointained
in this five-page document?
i
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes, I am.
HUSTON CARLYLE: Before we get into that, could you please
indicate for the commission your current
duties and responsibilities with the
police department?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Certainly. I'm a police sergeant in charge
of traffic. I have all the motor units and
people that take traffic accident reports .
And because cars get in traffic accidents,
I'm in charge of the tow trucks . And my job
is to monitor their job performance, if there' s
a problem.
HUSTON CARLYLE : When you say "their job performance, " are you
referring to the various towing companies?
SERGEANT ARAGON: The five tows on our rotation, yes .
HUSTON CARLYLE: Could you please capsulize for the commission
the information contained in Exhibit B?
SERGEANT ARAGON: It' s this petty theft report that you just
gave me?
HUSTON CARLYLE : The one I just gave you, yes . Down at the
bottom, I believe you' ll see Exhibit B .
SERGEANT ARAGON: Okay. First of all, let me point out for
MR. LIGHTBURN' s edification and the rest
of you, as well, this is part of a report .
These things are not complete because it' s
not a criminal matter. And so it may be a
little bit confusing if you see part of one
report and then after it comes another
report .
So the vehicle that is involved in this did
belong to this woman who' s the complaining
party. She' s the owner of the vehicle . She
has standing. That' s why she was there to pick
up the vehicle is because it belonged to her,
otherwise, we can' t give them back to her.
She went to pick up her car. And there were
a lot of things that happened before; for
example, her car was up on jacks, and they
told her they'd taken her wheels off for
safekeeping and that they were in storage .
And then she went back, and she tried to pick
up her car. And then her car still had no
wheels on it . '
And then they wanted her to pay for it . And
so then she was going to pay for it, but they
couldn' t get the car for her. And then when they
finally did, it had some other wheels on it .
And when her vehicle had been towed, someone
else was driving it, it had some, I believe,
$900 expensive wheels on it . And so they
took--some employee of the yard took wheels
off another car and put them on her car and
said, you know, "Here you go. "
And so she was upset that they were gone .
She was informed that they had filed a petty
theft report . She contacted us . We sent an
officer down. I was not involved in this at
all until after the fact . We sent an officer
down there . She called the police . He took
the report and documented everything that she
said and that, in fact, her wheels were more
than what the original petty theft report
was and that what the circumstances were
surrounding the theft of her wheels .
HUSTON CARLYLE : I'm going to hand you three more exhibits .
Exhibit C will be a five-page vehicle report
relative to an incident on February 3 , 1996 .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: MR. CARLYLE--MR. CHAIRMAN, perhaps it would be
better if we could do this (inaudible) along with
her exhibits . I don' t know how much (inaudible)
NEW SPEAKER: MR. CHAIRMAN, normally cross-examination waits
until the conclusion of the presentation by
the city.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Are you asking that when I move from one
exhibit to another, you get to cross-examine
before I am completed with the witness?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I'm asking if there might be a better way to
do it (inaudible) .
HUSTON CARLYLE : I will then hand you Exhibit D, which is a
one-page police printout relative to the date
of January 31, 1996 . I will then hand you
Exhibit E, which is a one-page printout relative
to an incident on February 27, 1996 . These
documents have been provided not only to the
commission members but to representatives of
Loma Linda Towing.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, maybe MR. CARLYLE can give me a copy of
this . This will be the fist time I've seen it .
JIM SIVELLE : MR. LIGHTBURN, you might want to talk into the
microphone .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I'm intimidated by sergeants .
I haven' t seen this document, whether it comes
from MR. WENZEL or from MR. CARLYLE or
whomever. Again, I think it demonstrates that
I haven' t had adequate time to go through some of
this stuff . And perhaps we could take a break
so I could have at least an opportunity to become
somewhat familiar with this document .
HUSTON CARLYLE: Well_, certainly MR. WENZEL has become familiar
with it .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: MR. WENZEL doesn' t have the responsibility,
MR. CHAIRMAN, of representing him, I do.
JIM SIVELLE: MR. WENZEL does have the responsibility because
it' s his case .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, that' s fine . Then I hope that we' ll have
everybody else in here who has responsibility
will appear. But I' ll still need some time to
look at it .
JIM SIVELLE : HUSTON, if you want to go ahead with your
interrogation there while MR. LIGHTBURN is
looking at his documents . I have a commission
here that hasn' t had dinner yet, and they' re
hollering are for coffee and cocktails .
HUSTON CARLYLE : I appreciate and will endeavor to short circuit
this .
JIM SIVELLE : I know the planning commission goes on until the
wee hours of the morning. But normally the
police commission doesn' t .
HUSTON CARLYLE: SERGEANT ARAGON, if I may direct your attention
to Exhibit C and ask you if you are familiar with
that two-page document, Exhibit C?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: MR. CARLYLE, you might want to say once again
which one is C.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Exhibit C is a two-page document, a vehicle
report involving an incident dated February 3 ,
1996 . It has a form sheet, and then the, second
page is what might be considered a computer
printout . Midway down it says, 1102/03/96 . "
JOHN LIGHTBURN: MR. CHAIRMAN, may I make a suggestion at the
risk of criticism, that perhaps a little break
be taken place and then maybe MR. CARLYLE can
show us all the cards he' s holding in his hands
and we can get them organized so we' ll know
what' s going to unfold to make sure I have these
documents instead of trying to do this
piecemeal, please?
HUSTON CARLYLE: MR. CHAIRMAN, I'm not opposed if MR. LIGHTBURN
needs a few minutes, but I have no intention of
showing what exhibits I'm going to present
until I present them in the order. I don' t ask
him how he' s going to try his case . And I would
hope he wouldn' t take--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I don' t know how I'm going to try my case,
MR. CARLYLE.
HUSTON CARLYLE: And I can assure you I don' t intend to
suggest how you try it . But I 'm-
JOHN LIGHTBURN: These are public documents, MR. CARLYLE. Did
you say that you have sent these to the
commission.
I
HUSTON CARLYLE : Yes, and to--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: They' re public documents . What do you mean you
can' t disclose those to us?
HUSTON CARLYLE : You've got them all .
JIM SIVELLE : If I might call the meeting back to order again,
please . I think Mr. LIGHTBURN that MR. WENZEL
if you are representing him should have
presented you with all of the documents that
were sent to the commission like he has them all
in his possession. And if you haven' t reviewed
them or if you can' t find them, we' ll supply you
with other copies of them.
I think that in order to get this hearing
completed at a reasonable hour, we should
proceed.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: In what manner, sir?
JIM SIVELLE : In the manner that we normally do and that is
taking the testimony from SERGEANT ARAGON as
we' re doing now. ,
JOHN LIGHTBURN: That' s what--well, there' s no precedent for
that, but go ahead. Just trying to save some
time, but we' re going to slug through this;
trust me .
HUSTON CARLYLE : SERGEANT ARAGON, Exhibit C is a two-page document
vehicle report with the second page being a
computer printout . Are you familiar with
Exhibit C?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes, I am.
HUSTON CARLYLE: Would you please indicate to the commission
the gist of the contents of Exhibit C.
SERGEANT ARAGON: Can we address all three of them?
HUSTON CARLYLE : No. No. We' ll just take Exhibit C first of
all .
SERGEANT ARAGON: This is--it' s a case where somebody called
for a tow, and it took too long for the tow
driver to get there . Unfortunately, page 2
isn' t attached to this, so I can' t tell you
how long it took.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Okay.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I' m still not clear as to what Exhibit C is?
SERGEANT ARAGON: This one right here .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: This is Exhibit C?
SERGEANT ARAGON: C is this . Go ahead, MR. CARLYLE. I'm sorry.
HUSTON CARLYLE : Thank you. Exhibit D is a one-page computer
printout
HUSTON CARLYLE : Would you please indicate to the commission
the gist of the contents of Exhibit C.
SERGEANT ARAGON: Could we address all three of them?
HUSTON CARLYLE : No. We will just take Exhibit C first of all .
SERGEANT ARAGON: This is--it' s--
(End of Tape #3)
SERGEANT ARAGON: Do you want to hear this?
NEW SPEAKER: Sure .
SERGEANT ARAGON: It' s people that are representatives
of all the departments in the city that
approve new building or updated building
that makes sure people are within the code--
JIM SIVELLE : Sergeant, could you use the mike?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Do you want me to repeat it?
JIM SIVELLE : How far back, JANE, did you miss?
JANE LORENZ: We' re okay from right now on.
SERGEANT ARAGON: Okay.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: So the police department has a representative .
You functioned as that . What recommendations
do the police department make recording the
security of commercial enterprises such as
a tow operation?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Well, if I may perhaps bring this into
perspective . When MR. WENZEL began towing with
Loma Linda Tow for the City of San Bernardino,
I was a member of the Development Review
Committee and the Environmental Review
Committee; and this was not brought before
US .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Which was not?
SERGEANT ARAGON: This tow yard.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: As a matter of fact, this used to be in the
unincorporated territory where Loma Linda
currently exists; is that not correct,
Sergeant?
SERGEANT ARAGON: That is correct .
OHN LIGHTBURN: And what--
SERGEANT ARAGON: Well, part of it is correct .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Yeah. And with an annexation, MR. WENZEL was
annexed into the City of San Bernardino; is that
correct?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I am not familiar exactly with that .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: So according to your testimony, if a person
has one incident of theft that may or may not
be their fault, that is grounds for termination
of this agreement; is that a fair statement?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I don' t believe I said that at all .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, I'm just--
SERGEANT ARAGON: My statement is that his yard did not come
before the Development Review Committee. Had
it, it certainly would not have passed in its
present condition. And he has had several thefts
from his yard, some reported, more than that,
not reported.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, why aren' t they--
SERGEANT ARAGON: And the other tow companies do not have thefts
from their yards .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, why isn' t that in this information?
SERGEANT ARAGON: What is that?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: These other incidents, if they' re so bearing
on this case . And why does it take from
12-27-95 to the 19th of March to address these
concerns with MR. WENZEL if they were so
important?
SERGEANT ARAGON: The entire operation of his business, as it
reflects on the San Bernardino Police Department,
has
g rown
increasingly gly important with the
passing of time as more and more things occur.
And we look worse and worse . The citizens are
put further and further out . The officer' s time
is wasted. Other citizens are not served because
officers are standing around waiting for tow
trucks and watching diesel fuel leak.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Okay. And then how long has this concern been?
You said it' s been over a period of time .
I' d like to know, and I' d like the commission to
know just how long my client, MR. WENZEL, has
been subject to some observation without his
being aware of any problems . Could you explain
to us for what period of time?
SERGEANT ARAGON: He' s not been the subject of observation, which
is one of the things that I pointed out . These
are complaints that were brought to me . When
they reached a level where I thought they were
no longer tolerable, which was March 5th, I
composed a memo to the city attorney' s office,
and things moved forward from there .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And what happened on March 5th that caused
this to happen? I don' t recall seeing that date
in any of this information.
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes, because that was the date I wrote my
memo, and that' s not part of your packet .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Oh, well . We' d like to see that memo . That
seems to have some bearing on this case as to
what would bring about your writing that memo.
SERGEANT ARAGON: It' s--all the information that was in that memo
was reduced to the letter that was received,
hand delivered to Loma Linda Tow, by the city
attorney' s office .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: So we don' t get to see that or perhaps other
documents that may be in this file? Is there
a file on MR. WENZEL?
SERGEANT ARAGON: There' s a file right here that says "Tow
Complaints . " And everything that is pertinent
to MR. WENZEL is included in your packet .
NEW SPEAKER: Excuse me . MR. CITY ATTORNEY, does this man
have a right to badger her like that, and does
he have the right for subpoena power and
discovery, etc? I'm not a lawyer either. But
I think I know something about the law.
NEW SPEAKER: Certainly, he has a right to ask questions .
I' ve seen SERGEANT ARAGON testify many times,
and it would take a great deal to badger
SERGEANT ARAGON. But if I might comment,
MR. CHAIRMAN. I know the commission wants
to give every opportunity to MR. WENZEL and
to Loma Linda Towing to be heard. But it seems,
if I might advise, that we' re going very slowly
at it and not getting a great deal of relevant
information in. That' s my comment as a legal
advisor to you. You may wish to advise
MR. LIGHTBURN to move along to another item,
whatever you' d like to do .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I have a question and a concern and an
understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong.
The basis for termination is incorporated in
a letter dated March the 19th; is that correct?
SERGEANT ARAGON: That' s correct .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And the allegations consist of five different
allegations at different times . Is it my
understanding we' re supposed to deal with these
five allegations not with what happened maybe
last year, the year before last, five years
from now or we' re supposed to base our
determination whether this is a valid
termination notice based on the five
allegations that are incorporated in this
letter. Are we basing that on that?
HUSTON CARLYLE : The agreement was entered into on July 27 of
last year and, therefore, the furthest back
one could go to determine this issue would be
July 27 of 1995 . The termination letter set
forth five areas upon any one of which it' s the
city' s position could terminate the agreement .
This is obviously an informal hearing. I have
not objected. I've tried to practice what I
preach and allowed MR. LIGHTBURN the same
latitude that I would have hoped he would have
allowed me . So I really haven' t interrupted
except on those specific occasions in which my
objection was sustained by the chair.
During the course of MR. LIGHTBURN' s
interrogation or questioning of SERGEANT ARAGON,
other matters have come to light . I 'm not the
legal advisor to the commission. But it would be
my position in summation at the appropriate time
that those matters may also be considered by this
commission. But, again, I ' m not the legal
I
advisor to this commission.
I
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I would like to stick to the allegations
that
are incorporated in this letter. When you get
dealing into something that happened or didn' t
happen, are not a part of this allegation, we
don' t have any tangible information here to
evaluate
HUSTON CARLYLE : Sir, you' re having Sergeant testify about things
that she has no knowledge about, no direct
knowledge . And your accepting that hearsay as
fact .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Don' t say that we' re accepting it, now.
JIM SIVELLE : I would--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I would like to know if I' d asked a question on--
HUSTON CARLYLE: And I 'm not going to be able to put on my case
because I haven' t had a chance to call people,
an opportunity. So I've got to think of some
real creative ways here in the next 20 or 30
minutes or an hour or two hours to do my .case .
JIM SIVELLE : No . You have five more minutes .
HUSTON CARLYLE: If you don' t understand the problem with that,
then I 'm sorry. I 've got some very difficult
things to do here, and I 'm going to do the best
I can with what I've got to do them.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: A couple of comments, MR. CHAIRMAN, is one,
hearsay is admissible . This is an informal
hearing; two, the appellant did have the
opportunity to put his case together. He chose
not to do it until the last minute. That can' t
be the fault of the commission. That is the
responsibility of the appellant .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, streamlining is one thing, but a railroad
is another. And this timing of--
HUSTON CARLYLE : There is no railroad, MR. LIGHTBURN.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, I'm just suggesting. And I' ll submit
to you--
HUSTON CARLYLE: You' re--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I' ll submit to you--
HUSTON CARLYLE : You are representing an individual who had this
information several--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I 'm saying there wasn' t an adequate amount of
time for anybody to prepare for this .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Then I would disagree with you, MR. LIGHTBURN.
JIM SIVELLE : I' d like very much for MR. WENZEL to be put
under oath.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, there' s an unprejudiced remark right there .
JANE LORENZ : Is this not true--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I beg your pardon? No. These are not true .
JANE LORENZ : --that he didn' t do this to himself by not
preparing.
HUSTON CARLYLE: By not preparing.
JIM SIVELLE : Possibly, MR. WENZEL would like to be put
under oath and asked questions about these
five allegations .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: We' re trying to get through the city' s case
here, MR. CHAIRMAN.
JIM SIVELLE : I think this is the city' s case . The city
has charged these five things .
NEW SPEAKER: That' s right .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Oh, that' s right . And we' re going to try to
prove that there isn' t any direct testimony--
JIM SIVELLE: Well, I think it--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: --to support these charges and try to get around
to what the facts really are .
JIM SIVELLE : Then I think we ought to ask MR. WENZEL what
the facts really are and see what his--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, we' re going to ask him. But we' re trying
to understand what the city' s witnesses are
testifying to. People that should be here to
answer some of these questions aren' t here . I
think that puts us at a real succinct
disadvantage . And I think that' s fairly obvious .
So I'm going to try to do the best I can.
HUSTON CARLYLE: I think whenever you have a contract agreement
between two parties--and that' s certainly what
this is . It' s a contract between Loma Linda
and the City of San Bernardino . And that
contract has been violated, not once, not twice,
five times .
LUIS LOPEZ : Well , then, your Honor, I ' m asking the witness
what standards there are, and she doesn' t give
me an answer other than there aren' t really
any standards in terms of what is a safe and
a secure place .
NEW SPEAKER: MR. CHAIRMAN, maybe if we could get back
to--and I don' t know if MR. LIGHTBURN is going
to stick with this--if we could get back to
addressing the particular allegations .
For example, were the rims stolen from the
vehicle? It doesn' t matter how much they cost,
who they belong to, or when they were stolen;
were they stolen? That' s one .
Another one is : Did someone from Loma Linda
Tow attempt to charge a lady $40 to retrieve
something from her vehicle? Did that happen
or did that not happen?
HUSTON CARLYLE : And is that a violation of the agreement?
NEW SPEAKER: And that ` s what we need to be hearing evidence
on. All this stuff about were you there, or
do you know this, or did you do that, that' s
irrevelent .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, where' s--Sergeant, I want to know who
J. MONTECINO is .
NEW SPEAKER: It doesn' t matter who J. MONTECINO is . It' s
irrevelent .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: That' s fine. And so he sent--J. MONTECINO sent
you this memo on 2-16-96, known as Exhibit--
SERGEANT ARAGON: Perhaps this will help you, JOHN. These
printouts here come from the computer as the
dispatcher is talking to officers . That' s
what the officer says .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Uh-huh.
SERGEANT ARAGON: So it' s a hard record of what occurs .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Regarding these, do you know the outcome of that
complaint of the theft of the rims or what
MR. WENZEL may have done to resolve those
issues? Are you familiar with the resolution of
that problem?
SERGEANT ARAGON: No. I think the problem is whether or not a
theft occurred, which it did because it was
reported by Loma Linda Tow initially.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Right . So you don' t know whether they didn' t
make good those rims?
SERGEANT ARAGON: No.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Don' t have any idea? You didn' t think that was
important to this case?
SERGEANT ARAGON: No.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: So you just stop your investigation. at that
point, you've heard enough?
SERGEANT ARAGON: The investigation is not (inaudible) to
discuss this .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: So the only--let me just go over it one time .
Excuse me for being redundant . Then yo4r
criteria for having a safe and secure facility
has to do with whether you have had one reported
theft over some period of time?
SERGEANT ARAGON: No.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Then please tell us what that standard is .
SERGEANT ARAGON: There were many more than one theft .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And how do we know that? Do we have that
incorporated in these charges? And when did
these things take place?
SERGEANT ARAGON: I can get into this whole thing here,
MR. CARLYLE, but we' ll be here all night .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Well, MR. LIGHTFOOT--excuse me .
MR. LIGHTBURN has asked a question. He has
opened the door. Now the amount of time you
want to take to open the door further, it is
UP to you, Sergeant . But--
SERGEANT ARAGON: All right . Just let me refer to another
report, which you don' t have a copy of because
it' s confidential .
This woman--
JIM SIVELLE : One moment, Sergeant .
NEW SPEAKER: MR. CHAIRMAN, this allegation is not based
on some thefts that occurred, other thefts that
occurred. It' s based on one particular theft and
that' s what we need to be dealing with. It ' s not
based on how many thefts have occurred there .
It' s based on one theft .
HUSTON CARLYLE: And I think it' s based on--the rest of this is
based on the amount of time it takes to get to
a vehicle not being able to do what you' re
supposed to do on a contract . It' s a contract
violation is what it amounts to. And it' s not
one contract violation, but many contract
violations .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Yeah. And there' s only one party to that
agreement that appeared tonight .
NEW SPEAKER: I see the city representative .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: That' s the city attorney representative .
NEW SPEAKER: Well, he' s from the city administrator' s office .
HUSTON CARLYLE : Based on these allegations, the city has asked
to terminate this agreement .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: No. The city has not asked. The city attorney' s
office and the police department--
JIM SIVELLE : Well, that' s an argument you can make at some
point in time . This body has gone forward with
this hearing upon the basis that the city is
here . So if you want to make that argument at
some point in time, you may but not here .
NEW SPEAKER: At the city counsel meeting possibly.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Now, moving on, Sergeant, to Violation 3 .
Now that says violation of Paragraph 2M of
said agreement on no less than three
occasions, Loma Linda Towing has indicated
that it would be on the scene of the requested
tow within 20 minutes .
When did they indicate that and how? I
mean, how do we arrive at this 20 minutes?
SERGEANT ARAGON: We call them. They say, "We' ll be there in
20 or less . "
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And that' s their good faith effort . Where
n.
in the agreement does it say 20 minutes?
SERGEANT ARAGON: The agreement says reasonable response
time .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: And reasonable response time means?
SERGEANT ARAGON: 20 minutes .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: This is a pretty large city. And you know
where MR. WENZEL' s dispatching his vehicles
from these days . Can you tell the commission
again what part of town?
SERGEANT ARAGON: The 1900 block of S . Tippecanoe .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: That' s way down by--kind of toward Redlands on
I-10 Freeway?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Right off the freeway, yes .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Right of the freeway. And I saw on one of these
complaints where it says something about
Kendall Avenue . Is that the Kendall Avenue like
behind Little Mountain?
SERGEANT ARAGON: That was one.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: That was one. And the other one San Anselmo.
That seems to me by my recollection it would be
above Highland kind of east of Valencia. Is that
pretty close to where that might be?
SERGEANT ARAGON: What?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: San Anselmo. I don' t know.
I
SERGEANT ARAGON: That' s on--Valencia is .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, then tell me where it is . I live in--
SERGEANT ARAGON: They' re all places that they reasonably should
be able to get to in 20 minutes .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, no, no, no. Not whether it' s reasonable
or not . I'm trying to determine how far away
they might be as opposed to Tri City or other
towing companies .
SERGEANT ARAGON: The tow companies are scattered all about the
city, and the places that we call them to are
scattered all about the city. And everybody
else can make it in 20 minutes .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: But everybody else doesn' t come from Tippecanoe
and I-10, do they?
NEW SPEAKER: MR. CHAIRMAN, may I ask the sergeant a question?
JIM SIVELLE : Yes . Excuse me .
NEW SPEAKER: Sergeant, to your knowledge are there freeways
connecting the southern end of the city basically
to the northern end, southeast to northwest;
do you know?
SERGEANT ARAGON: Yes, there is .
NEW SPEAKER: Thank you.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Sergeant, could you tell me--I've looked at this
and--February 3rd at Kendall, now that' s one
that I had said here, and it took either 30/35
minutes or 47 minutes?
SERGEANT ARAGON: This is Kendall and Little Mountain, 30 minutes .
2500 block of Valencia, 35 minutes . And the
700 block of San Anselmo was 47 minutes . Now,
these are the ones where we allowed them to go
ahead and respond. If they were more than
20 minutes, we just cancel them.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Okay. And then the first one here, February 3rd,
did you notify MR. WENZEL about this being a
possible problem?
SERGEANT ARAGON: We don' t notify them on any of them, they' re
canceled.
JANE LORENZ : MR. CHAIRMAN--
SERGEANT ARAGON: They were notified in January that they had
a 20-minute response time.
JIM SIVELLE : Yes, COMMISSIONER LORENZ .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Where in the--
JIM SIVELLE : One moment, JOHN, please .
NEW SPEAKER: MR. LIGHTBURN--
NEW SPEAKER: MR. LIGHTBURN--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, I 'm sorry.
JIM SIVELLE : One moment, please . COMMISSIONER LORENZ .
JANE LORENZ : Is it at all possible that we make--that I
make a motion that commissioner pole the
termination agreement?
JIM SIVELLE: You can. Is that your motion?
JANE LORENZ : Yes, it is .
JIM SIVELLE : Is there a second to that motion?
NEW SPEAKER: I didn' t hear the motion.
JIM SIVELLE : Motion ,vas--
JANE LORENZ : That the commission uphold the city' s termination
agreement and riot drag this on any longer
tonight .
NEW SPEAKER: I' ll second it .
JIM SIVELLE : That the commission upholds the termination
agreement .
NEW SPEAKER: I do, yes .
JIM SIVELLE : Second to the motion?
NEW SPEAKER: I second it .
WALLY GREEN: MR. CHAIRMAN?
JIM SIVELLE : MR. GREEN?
WALLY GREEN: I' d like to ask the attorney a question.
MR. CARLYLE, is that an appropriate motion
at this stage in these hearings?
HUSTON CARLYLE: You would like to allow him time to present
his side of the case; however, he has extended
a great deal of time in what the chair has
ruled as irrelevancies . And this is going to
be, apparently, appealed anyway. So I don' t
know if it' s inappropriate. I would have liked
to have heard MR. WENZEL testify. He has not
at this point called him. I know that there are
difficulties that the commissioner' s facing.
JIM SIVELLE : One of those is we' re about to lose our quorum.
WALLY GREEN: Our quorum, I understand that . And the reason
I asked that question, MR. CHAIRMAN, is that
I have some specific questions I would like to
ask. And I need to address those questions
to I guess MR. WENZEL. But as long as this
particular testimony is being carried out
I don' t have the opportunity to do that .
And before I make a vote on this issue, I
have some specific questions that I' d like
to get answered.
JIM SIVELLE : Mr. WENZEL, would you like to be put under
oath and take the podium before we take a
vote, if you would, please .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I beg your pardon, MR. CHAIRMAN. What are
we doing now? Is this our case? We don' t get
a chance to finish up some of these questions?
JIM SIVELLE : The commissioners would like to ask MR. WENZEL
some questions under oath.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well , that may be something MR. WENZEL and I
are going to have to discuss at this point .
We' d kind of like to present our side of it,
and we would do that like MR. CARLYLE has done
an excellent job of presenting their case .
JIM SIVELLE : You' re saying you don' t want to have him
answer the questions?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I don' t know that this is the right time to
interfere in our asking questions about their
case to now drop all that because you' re going
to lose a quorum. I started off this evening
with what I thought was a very good suggestion.
JIM SIVELLE: MR. LIGHTBURN, would you ask him if he would
like to testify or you guys decide what you
want to do because MR. GREEN has asked if he
could ask a question.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, I think that just puts it all out of
order, and I'm going to say that he will have
no problem testifying. If we get the rest of
these people who have signed onto these
documents as things being the truth and not
having to subject a sergeant who has very
little direct knowledge, so it can be
expedient to the city attorney' s office .
Yeah. I think at some point in time MR. WENZEL
might want to do that . But I think it' s
inappropriate for the commission now at their
convenience at this hour to interfere with the
presentation of our examination of the city' s
witnesses .
NEW SPEAKER: I believe, MR. CHAIRMAN, what MR. LIGHTBURN is
saying is, no, that they will not testify at
this time .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Not at this time .
JIM SIVELLE : Well, let me say, MR. LIGHTBURN, that if we lose
a quorum this will go to the city then at the
earliest meeting.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Your Honor, I was on record early as to why this
shouldn' t have gone forward tonight .
JIM SIVELLE : Well, however, the commission disagreed with
that . And that' s where you are before the
commission.
There is a motion pending on the floor.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: What was the motion, again? I'm sorry.
NEW SPEAKER: To uphold the termination.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Oh, okay.
JIM SIVELLE : Okay. And there has been a second to it . Are
you ready for the question?
WALLY GREEN: I take it we need to be fair and I think both
parties need to come to some type of formal
agreement . And if you could be fair with us--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: I tried to be fair with you.
WALLY GREEN: --and since it' s informal, if you could have your
client step to the podium and have some of the
commissioners question him if they so desire,
and if you--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: No.
WALLY GREEN: --If you feel at this time that you--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: No. No. No.
WALLY GREEN: Well, wait until I get through.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: No. No. No.
WALLY GREEN: You won' t let me finish--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: It' s been asked and answered. Remember?
WALLY GREEN: No. You can' t cut me off .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, I don' t have to agree .
WALLY GREEN: What I'm saying so I ' ll have an understanding,
if you' re not going to allow him to testify,
then I 'm ready to vote .
NEW SPEAKER: MR. CHAIRMAN, I--MR. LIGHTBURN, I must say
that if that' s going to be your attitude, I
think what you' re doing now has polarized this
commission.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Oh, I should allow this commission to direct my
case?
NEW SPEAKER: No. That' s not what we' re suggesting. The point
that' s being made, MR. LIGHTBURN, that you seem
to be overlooking is that you have delved into
issues that' s totally not related to the
allegations contained in this letter. You' re
going into issues that have no relevancy.
And we have been patient with this for what, an
hour and a half?
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Well, I'm sorry. You' re talking about taking a
person' s livelihood away. •
NEW SPEAKER: If you' re going to consider down that path, then
I'm going to have to be one to agree to cut
off the bait and let' s vote .
JIM SIVELLE : Okay.
NEW SPEAKER: Other than that, if you want to present your case
and do it in a professional form--
JOHN LIGHTBURN: He will testify.
NEW SPEAKER: --I' ll listen to you all night .
JOHN LIGHTBURN: He will testify at the appropriate time but not
in such a manner as to violate his due process,
substantive and due rights under the city
ordinances and agreements and resolutions and
all which governs this matter here .
NEW SPEAKER: MR. CHAIRMAN, I call for request of the motion.
JIM SIVELLE : We have (inaudible) .
All those in favor say "Aye . "
NEW SPEAKERS : Aye . Aye . Aye . Aye .
JIM SIVELLE : Opposed?
Pursuant to the San Bernardino Municipal
Code Section 5 . 82 . 210 and 282 . 220 , you may
appeal the police commission' s decision to
the mayor and the common counsel within 10
calendar days of the date of the commission' s
decision.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: MR. CHAIRMAN, may I inquire? The date of the
commission' s decision is to night?
JIM SIVELLE : Is today.
JOHN LIGHTBURN: Thanks, MR. CHAIRMAN.
NEW SPEAKER: It was almost tomorrow.
JIM SIVELLE: Are there any commission reports?
DENNIS BARLOW: MR. CHAIRMAN, may I be excused? Do you need
me - any more?
JIM SIVELLE : Yes . Thank you, MR. BARLOW.
DENNIS BARLOW: Thank you.
73
BRUNICK, ALVAREZ & BATTERSBY
PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION
1839 COMMERCENTER WEST
WILLIAM J. BRUNICK 215 CAJON STREET
DONALD R. ALVAREZ POST OFFICE BOX 6425 P_ O. BOX 1320
MARGUERITE P. BATTERSBY SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA 92412 REDLANDS, CALIFORNIA 92373
ELIZABETH D. IRWIN AREA CODE 909 TELEPHONE (909) 793-0818
STEVEN M. KENNEDY TELEPHONE. 889-8301
AMY GREYSON FAX: 388-1889 Entered into Record at
LELAND P. MCELHANEY Caunci11CmyDevCmsAt,F h `"`
JEFFERY L. CAUFIELO
May 6, 1996 by
Honorable Mayor and Common Council re Agenda ttcM
City of San Bernardino ;r_)
300 North "D" Street A
San Bernardino, CA 92412
City CterkICDC Secy
Re• Loma Linda Towing City of San Bernardino
Gentlemen and Ladies:
This law firm is legal counsel to Loma Linda Towing. This letter
is submitted in conjunction with the appeal filed by Leo Wenzel,
the owner of Loma Linda Towing, with regard to the Police
Commission decision of April 8, 1996, denying Mr. Wenzel ' s appeal
of the termination of his tow services agreement with the City.
The appeal is based on the following grounds:
1. The City Attorney' s office must disqualify itself from
advising the Mayor and Common Council on this matter due to the
fact that the proposed termination is being sponsored by, and
prosecuted forward, by the City Attorney' s office.
2 . The Mayor and Common Council have not received a full and
complete transcript of the proceedings before the Police
Commission. Further, no official minutes of the hearing has been
provided. The transcript that was provided to you is incomplete
and incomprehensible, and has not been approved by the
Commission.
3 . The Findings and Statement of Decision, dated April 11,
1996, were not approved nor authorized by the Police Commission.
The date of the Police Commission action was April 8 ; at no time
did they adopt any particular set of findings, nor approve or
authorize their vice chairman to prepare or sign a set of
findings.
4 . The Police Commission acted to deny Mr. Wenzel ' s appeal,
thereby concluding that the tow service agreement has been
terminated absent an appeal by Mr. Wenzel to this body. The
Police Commission had no authority to terminate the tow services
agreement, either under the tow service agreement itself, or any
of the particular City ordinances that the City Attorney' s office
s-6-94
i
Letter to Mayor and Common Council
May 6, 1996
Page 2
has chosen to rely upon to process this termination. At most,
the Police Commission was vested with the power to make a
recommendation to the Mayor and Common Council .
5. Mr. Wenzel has a property right in his tow service
agreement, and in the continuation of his business, which
includes expenditure of substantial monies in reliance on the
prior issuance of his franchise last year; the execution of the
tow services agreement; and Mr. Wenzel ' s obtaining of approval of
a Conditional Use Permit for his tow service operations, and his
expenditure of substantial sums in reliance on the issuance of
that Conditional Use Permit. As such, the tow service agreement
cannot be terminated without due process of law.
6. However, there is no process in place for consideration of
termination of tow services agreement, nor was Mr. Wenzel
provided with due process of law at the Police Commission
meeting, nor in the manner in which the alleged violations were
brought to his attention.
A. There is no process in place to the holding of pre-
termination hearings in front of the Police Commission, including
but not limited to the method and requirements for disclosure of
evidence to support a proposed termination; the manner of
presentation of witnesses; the right of cross-examination by Mr.
Wenzel and/or his representatives;
B. There is no process in place for parties to these tow
services agreements to be provided with prior notice of the
specific standards that will be relied upon for consideration of
termination; nor whether parties to tow services agreements will
be advised of problems so that they may attempt to remedy them.
For example, that one alleged incident of theft from a vehicle
would provide the basis for termination of the agreement.
C. Mr. Wenzel ' s reasonable request for a continuance of
the Police Commission hearing was denied. Mr. Wenzel requested a
continuance (1) to allow his representative, John Lightburn, to
discuss with the City the procedures that were to be followed; to
ensure that Mr. Wenzel had been provided with all documentation;
and because Mr. Lightburn had the flu. For some reason
undisclosed to Mr. Wenzel, the City Attorney' s office advised the
Commission that this matter had to come before you not later than
May 6, 1996.
D. Mr. Wenzel was denied the opportunity to make a full
and fair presentation to the Commission. Not all information was
provided that was relied upon by the Police Department regarding
Letter to Mayor and Common Council
May 6, 1996
Page 3
the alleged violations. Certain information was blacked out of
the documents provided to the Commission. Other information was
never provided to Mr. Wenzel because it was allegedly
confidential.
E. Mr. Wenzel, through Mr. Lightburn, was not allowed to
cross-examine the witnesses against him. The specific
individuals who made the accusations were not present at the
Commission meeting. Testimony was offered by Sergeant Jennifer
Aragon from documents and without her personal knowledge.
F. Mr. Wenzel 's attempt to cross-examine Jennifer Aragon
was cut off prematurely by the Commission, who decided that
questions being raised to obtain an explanation of her actions
were irrelevant. These "irrelevant" questions included matters
like how she determined that a particular tow service company was
not secured or safe.
G. During the Commission meeting, the City was permitted
to bring in evidence of other alleged incidences even though had
listed only five bases for termination. Nor had Mr. Wenzel been
given any documentation regarding those other alleged violations,
nor any opportunity to respond or review that information.
H. No objective standards were provided to Police
Commission to make its decision as to what was adequate basis for
termination of a tow services agreement. The purpose for the
hearing, and the burden of proof, were never explained to the
Commission.
I. The Commission was led to believe, and assumed, that
the burden of proof was on Mr. Wenzel to demonstrate why his
agreement should not be terminated, rather than the correct
burden of proof that the City bears to demonstrate why the
agreement should be terminated.
J. The Police Commission denied the appeal without
allowing Mr. Wenzel an adequate opportunity to present his case.
In the middle of questioning of Sgt. Aragon by Mr. Lightburn,
Commissioner Lorenz interrupted, requested a "poll" of the
Commission, and moved to terminate the agreement, which was then
approved by the Commission. (See p. 61 of transcript)
K. The Police Commission was misled into believing that
Mr. Wenzel was wasting their time because he had a right to
another full hearing in front of this body. The Police
Commission was not told that under the particular ordinance
provisions relied upon by the City Attorney' s office, a hearing
I
Letter to Mayor and Common Council
May 6, 1996
Page 4
can only be held if this body grants an appeal, and it is not
automatic.
7. The decision of the Police Commission was arbitrary and
capricious because it was based on inadequate and insufficient
evidence. The burden was on the City to justify termination of
the Agreement. The only evidence was hearsay in the form of
testimony from Sgt. Aragon regarding what others said. No
evidence was presented as to the specific objective standards
used by the City to make the recommendation to terminate the
agreement.
Mr. Wenzel therefore requests the following:
1. That the Mayor and Common Council reverse the decision of
the Police Commission as being completely without basis or
authority; and confirm that the tow service agreement is in full
force and effect.
2 . That an appeal hearing be scheduled before the Mayor and
Common Council, for consideration of the proposed termination.
Further, prior to the holding of the appeal hearing, that the
City staff be directed to develop a fair process to ensure that
Mr. Wenzel ' s due process rights are protected, including but not
limited to the disclosure of all information relied upon to
terminate the agreement; and the production of all witnesses who
form the basis for the allegations against Loma Linda Towing.
Your anticipated courtesy and cooperation are appreciated.
Very truly yours,
BRUNICK, ALVAREZ & BATTERSBY
4tv�)
Amy Greyson
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