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Oxnard deputy city attorney describes use of misdemeanors and gun-violence restraining orders to address illegal camping and public storage
Summary
Julian Gonzales, deputy city attorney for the City of Oxnard, outlined how the City Attorney’s Office prosecutes code violations for illegal camping and public storage and seeks gun violence restraining orders to remove firearms from people deemed a danger.
Julian Gonzales, deputy city attorney for the City of Oxnard, described the city’s approach to enforcing ordinances on illegal camping and storage of personal property in public and the city’s use of gun violence restraining orders to remove firearms from people judged to present a danger.
Gonzales said the City Attorney’s Office prosecutes violations of city code sections 7-3.20 (camping without a permit) and 7-3.21 (storage of personal property in public). He said misdemeanor criminal complaints are filed only against individuals deemed chronic offenders who have not accepted voluntary services. Before filing charges, Gonzales said, the office works closely with the Oxnard Police Department and community service providers to try to get individuals into voluntary treatment and support services.
Even when criminal complaints are filed, Gonzales said the underlying goal is to place individuals into services. He said the City Attorney’s Office coordinates with defense counsel and the public defender to seek judicial diversion; successful completion of judicial diversion results in dismissal of the charges, he said.
Gonzales also described the city’s use of gun violence restraining orders (commonly called “red flag” orders) to remove firearms from people who pose a danger to themselves or others. He said a restraining order can be sought by an officer from the Oxnard Police Department or by petition from the City Attorney’s Office. While a restraining order is in effect, the restrained person must surrender firearms and ammunition and is prohibited from possessing, controlling, or purchasing firearms or ammunition, Gonzales said. He said such orders can last from one to five years, and at expiration an individual may seek return of firearms and ammunition through the court process.
Gonzales told the meeting that, according to city records, the City of Oxnard has obtained more than 50 gun violence restraining orders in the past three years. The remarks were made as a presentation; no formal vote or motion was recorded in the transcript.
