Law and Disorder 9-11
Christina Veloz-Payne-a 14-year-old Goleta resident reported missing on 9/3 after she failed to return home from the Labor Day fireworks display at Girsh Park-was found dead at the intersection of Calle Real and Plumas Avenue, near Highway 101, on 9/4. A CHP investigation is treating the girl’s death as a felony hit-and-run. Investigators suspect she may have been struck while she was attempting to cross the highway on foot. Those wishing to contribute to a memorial fund to help Veloz-Payne’s mother pay for funeral arrangements can do so at any Bank of America. (/christinavelozpayne)
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Police arrested Christopher Manson on 9/7 on charges that he was responsible for a string of vehicular burglaries that day in the Cliff Drive neighborhood. After being summoned to the area by a witness to one auto break-in, police say they caught Manson breaking into another a block away. In total, police blame him for four burglaries and attempting a fifth. Among the items he allegedly stole were iPods and other such electronics. (/carburglary)
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Jesse James Hollywood-the man accused of ordering the 2000 murder of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz, whose body was buried near Lizard’s Mouth-appeared in Santa Barbara Superior Court on 9/5. Motions made before Judge Brian Hill were largely procedural. A motion by Hollywood’s attorney, James Blatt, to dismiss the case was not heard. Hill also said that it was too early in the case to consider two motions by Blatt to take the death penalty off the table. (/hollywood911)
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After a Ventura County jury found that La Conchita Ranch Company lacked a proper drainage system and was therefore negligent in the 2005 landside that claimed 10 lives in the community located below the ranch, a settlement was reached on 9/8 between plaintiffs and the ranch. The 700-acre avocado and lemon ranch will sell off all its assets, including property and equipment, by this December and give victims’ family members proceeds plus a $5 million insurance claim.
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The Gaviota Coastal Conservancy filed suit against the County of Santa Barbara last week, crying foul over the Board of Supervisors’ recent approval of the Ballentyne residence on Farren Road. The lawsuit argues that that the supervisors’ 3-2 approval of the house and its accompanying 300-foot-long dirt wall not only violates county land use policies but also the California Environmental Quality Act. The matter should reach courts next year.
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Pop star Mariah Carey’s attorneys are threatening legal action against Santa Barbara-based music producer Damian “Damizza” Young, whose forthcoming autobiography Guilty by Association will focus on his work and relationship with Carey as well as hip-hop stars such as Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Jay-Z. The cease-and-desist letter, sent on 9/5, reminds Young of a confidentiality agreement he signed with Carey, but the producer still plans to release the book in December.
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Frank Goss said he suspects that a paving stone tossed through the window of his Anapamu Street Sullivan Goss Gallery early on 9/4 was an act of protest against an anti-war-themed art show that opened that day. Citing the futility of trying to get fingerprints from the projectile, Santa Barbara Police left the stone at the gallery. (/gosstoss)
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Tobacco stings-Sheriff’s Department-orchestrated ventures that check whether stores illegally sell smoking products to underage decoys-indicate that county shops are breaking the law less often than last year. Tobacco-selling shops in unincorporated areas of the county sold to decoys 10 percent of the time-down from 15 percent last year. In Goleta, rates dropped to 13 percent-down from 19 percent last year. Only in the City of Santa Barbara did the rates rise: up from 15 percent to 17 percent. (/smokesting)
