DA Files Charges Against Santa Barbara Woman Caught in Another Racially Charged Viral Video
In What Appears to Be an Earlier Incident, Jeanne Umana Harrasses Street Vendor and Claims Again She ‘Works for the Police’
[Updated: Wed., Oct. 18, 2023, 5:50pm]
Jeanne Umana, the Santa Barbara woman caught on video a month ago in a racially charged confrontation with a construction worker — an incident that sparked a large demonstration, and for which police recommended several criminal charges, including a hate crime — was officially charged Wednesday on two misdemeanor counts of trespassing and battery. The charges come just one day after another video was posted in which she appears to harass a street vendor and claim, once again, that she works “for the police department.”
The second video, which was recorded before the original incident, was posted on Tuesday by Los Angeles–based street vendor activist Edin Enamorado, who also posted the confrontation with the construction worker and organized the demonstration outside Umana’s house in September. In the clip posted this week, Umana confronts a Spanish-speaking street vendor at Alameda Park, threatening to call the police and telling him that he is “illegal.”
“You’re illegal.” Umana can be heard saying in the video. “Because you’re selling food that is gonna make people sick. You’re a crook.”
She proceeds to tell the vendor, who was identified only as Antonio, that the City of Santa Barbara is “arresting people” for street vending. “They don’t want you here,” she says.
Credit: Edin Enamorado
Umana’s claim seems to stem from the fact that the City of Santa Barbara filed criminal charges against two specific street vending operations over the summer for violating fire-safety codes by using propane tanks and open flames. The charges were part of the city’s attempt to crack down on larger, out-of-town operations that were essentially operating full kitchens in the open, though no charges or arrests have come down on the city’s smaller street-cart vendors.
In the most recently released video, Umana claims that she works for the police department in “public relations” — a claim the Santa Barbara Police Department refuted the day after hundreds gathered in front of her home to call for her arrest a month ago.
“The woman has no affiliation with the Santa Barbara Police Department and the police department does not condone her behavior,” said police spokesperson Ethan Ragsdale on September 18.
Two days later, on September 20, the Police Department referred the case to the District Attorney’s Office, recommending the charges of trespassing, battery on a person, and hate crime. The police’s recommendation made no mention of Umana’s apparent attempt to impersonate a department employee.
Enamorado posted the latest video on October 17, asking his 268,000 Instagram followers to contact the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office to ask for charges to be officially filed. In the caption, he wrote: “I can’t believe [Santa Barbara’s District Attorney] has not filed hate crime charges or anything on Jeanne Umana and now she is back.”
The video quickly spread on social media, with several commenters claiming that the events occurred after the original video, leading to questions over how Umana could be caught in a similar incident after so much public outrage. Enamorado could not be reached for comment.
Umana admitted to being in the most recently released video, but told the Independent that it was recorded in August, nearly a month before she gained internet infamy for her confrontation with the construction worker and well before she was facing potential criminal charges.
“This video was taken last August, well before September 16,” Umana said. She did not want to comment further.
The Santa Barbara Police Department is aware of the second video and will be looking into the matter, though Chief Kelly Gordon said the department could not provide any more details at this time.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch announced on Wednesday afternoon that Umana had been officially charged with trespassing and battery from the incident involving the construction worker. The District’s Attorney’s Office, which has been flooded with calls regarding Umana’s case, did not pursue charges of hate crime, and investigators did not recommend charges relating to her assertion that she worked for the police department.
Umana is scheduled for arraignment in Santa Barbara Superior Court on November 30.
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