The Shifting Landscape of Homelessness in Malibu
May. 08, 2021 at 6:00 am
Genevieve Finn, Malibu Times / SMDP Staff Writer
The paradise of Malibu draws tourists, surfers, Realtors, hoteliers and, of course, those who are unhoused, many of whom claim local ties to the area.
For what seems like forever, those groups have clashed. Homeless individuals have assaulted housed Malibuites; homeless individuals have died in Malibu, many hit by vehicles on PCH. Last November, fires lit by people experiencing homelessness and trying to keep warm caused multiple close calls in Tuna Canyon, causing major safety concerns both for those living in tents there and those living in homes nearby. In the same fire season, in February, a person experiencing homelessness spotted an electrical fire flare up near Malibu Knolls in the darkness and biked to Fire Station 88 to alert firefighters to the blaze.
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Last month, L.A. District Attorney George Gascón received an unusual proposal from Sheriff Alex Villanueva: The sheriff wanted to create a joint task force with the DA to fight government corruption and target dirty politicians. The mission of [the task force] is to develop meaningful and productive investigatory relationships among our detectives and deputy district attorneys, who are charged with investigating public corruption, said a draft memorandum of understanding written by the Sheriff s Department and obtained by LAist. It argued the task force would serve as a force multiplier.
The memo said the DA would chair the group and it envisioned other law enforcement agencies joining. Participants would brief each other on sensitive cases they were working on, it said.
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Michael Gargiulo, who was convicted in 2019 of killing two women and seriously injuring another in a series of knife attacks, will still face the death penalty after Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón made an exception to his order barring capital punishment, according to court documents filed this week.
When he took office last year, Gascón enacted a number of sweeping policy changes, including directives that barred prosecutors from seeking the death penalty or making use of the sentencing enhancements state law allows in certain types of cases that can significantly increase the time someone spends in prison.
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Double murderer approved for parole at third hearing; prosecutors barred from attending under Gascón s reform
LOS ANGELES - A gang member and double murderer convicted in the shooting and killing of two teenagers at a party in Los Angeles more than thirty years ago was found to be suitable for parole by the state at a hearing on Wednesday, a hearing that prosecutors weren’t allowed to attend as part of new District Attorney George Gascón s reforms.
Howard Elwin Jones has been imprisoned at San Quentin state prison since 1991 for the December 1988 shooting and killing of 18-year-old Chris Baker and another boy at a party in Rowland Heights.