A memorial has been set up on the Promenade for Anthony Mele.

by Sheli Ellsworth

On April 18th at 6:23pm, a 911 call reported that a homeless man was at the Ventura Promenade yelling and “being disruptive,” according to a statement issued by Ventura Police. Because all patrol cars were on other calls, the command center staff watched the pier’s security camera for twenty minutes and determined that a man matching the caller’s description was not threatening or disturbing.

At about 6:30pm, a homeless man, Jamal Jackson (49) entered the Aloha Steakhouse patio and stabbed patron Anthony Mele (35) in the neck. Mele was eating dinner with his family and had no connection to Jackson. Aloha employees quickly responded with first aid using towels to stop Mele’s bleeding. They took Mele’s family to a back room to comfort them. Mele’s wife appeared to be in shock. His daughter was given ice-cream. Mele was taken to the hospital and later died. The tragedy marks the city’s first homicide this year.

According to the police report, “Officers from the Special Enforcement Team, who were patrolling the area, quickly arrived on scene. The officers observed a group of people standing on the Ventura Promenade who had chased the subject (Jackson) from the crime scene and onto the beach.”

Jackson was arrested without incident. Reports of Jackson using a restaurant steak knife to commit the crime was in error.

“The Ventura Police Department would like to speak with those people and anyone else who had contact with Jackson. The video is available for public view at https://vimeo.com/265835662/ f77c6945d9. If you have information contact Sgt. Matt Cain 339-4488.

Deputy Mayor Matt LaVere says, “As a father of young children, I am truly heartbroken and send my deepest condolences to Mr. Mele’s wife and daughter. My council colleagues and I want to assure the public that the City Council will commit whatever resources are necessary to make sure a senseless crime like this does not happen again . . . .”

Homelessness is a diverse problem. According to the 2015 US Department of Housing and Urban Development report, at least 25% of our nation’s homeless population suffers from severe mental illness and 45% were identified as having some form of mental illness. According to the Ventura County 2017 Homeless Count, the city of Ventura has about 300 homeless people. An extrapolation would indicate that at least 75 of the city’s homeless population is severely mentally ill. However, historically, homeless research has reported that the homeless are no more likely to commit crimes than the general population. To make matters worse, according to the American Journal of Community Psychology (Vol.42, No.3) recent research has found that shuffling homeless people from one shelter to the next actually increases the chance of them committing violent crimes such as robbery and assault.

Is it possible to asses someone’s mental state in a short period of time? The 911 caller felt uncomfortable enough to report the behavior. However, on video tape, the man did not appear aggressive. But the short answer is “no.” Mental illness can be transient or pervasive which is why a 72-hour 5150 (involuntary psychiatric hold) is used for people who might be a danger to themselves, a danger to others or severely impaired (disabled). A 5250 (involuntary confinement for up to 14 days) may follow for certain mental disorders. However, a bi-partisan bill was passed (1967) in California to reform mental health protocol. The Lanterman-Petris-Short Act signed into law by Gov. Reagan was designed to end involuntary indefinite commitment for the mentally ill. It also provided for prompt evaluation (surely more than 20 minutes of video feed?); the safeguarding of individual rights; to provide treatment and placement; to use public funds to accomplish these objectives; to prevent the mentally ill and the disabled from becoming victims of crimes.

Is Jamal Jackson mentally ill? Could this tragedy have been prevented? Perhaps. But do taxpayers want to pay for the evaluation, treatment and temporary placement of what could possibly be up to 75 people in Ventura alone? Can we afford not to? There are also legal fees. The mentally ill and disabled have the right to refuse treatment and dispute their mental diagnoses. Do taxpayers also foot the bill for any legal help they might require? How do you provide treatment for someone who doesn’t want help? And how does an over-burdened police department have the time to evaluate every person who might appear impaired? Important questions to be answered!

As our entire city mourns for the Mele family, maybe we should also mourn our loss of innocence.

Students from Ventura schools gathered on the lawn and steps at City Hall to call for gun reform. Photos by Michael Gordon

Over 150 Ventura Unified School District students gathered at City Hall on April 20, to call for new gun legislation and an end to gun violence in our schools and country. The National School Walkout on Friday was the 19th anniversary of the shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado.

Students from Foothill Technology High School, Buena High School, Ventura High School and other schools gathered on the lawn and steps at City Hall to express their thoughts and listened to speakers which included Ventura City Council Members Cheryl Heitmann and Erik Nasarenko and State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson.

Ventura Deputy Mayor Nasarenko told the gathered crowd “At that time, we thought it was an outlier. How would this ever happen again? How could 13 individuals lose their lives? We just thought it was an aberration. Since then, churches, night clubs, schools, college campuses, Aurora, Newtown, Parkland, Virginia Tech, Pulse Nightclub. We can stop this. Together, we can enact and pass commonsense, reasonable gun control legislation that will save lives.”

City Council Member Heitmann told the students about a resolution that was recently passed by the City Council that included calling on Congress to raise the gun purchasing age to 21 and to enact stricter gun control laws. She stated “These high school students both locally and across the nation are bringing the discussion about gun control to a whole new level. Their commitment, passion and advocacy is vital in getting our federal government to do everything possible to enact stricter gun control as well as allocate additional funds to the CDC to study gun violence. I admire what they are doing and know that their voices are being heard and will continue to be heard as they continue to advocate.”

Breeze contributing photographer said “Welcome to recording history. The students pictures in the attached photographs will be tomorrow government leaders. History because these young adults, not yet out of High School, have taken it upon themselves to exercise the First Amendment of the Constitution of The United States.”

The students disbanded around 1:30 p.m. from City Hall. Because the walkouts were not sanctioned by the school district students who left campus are subject to regular attendance rules, they will be considered truant.

Smoke from the fire could be seen from the mainland.

A fire that broke out on March 27, at about 2:30 pm on Santa Cruz Island is now fully contained. The fire, driven by moderately strong winds, grew from just 20 to 100 acres in the first three hours.

The fire escaped from a prescribed small burn pile fire that had been set earlier this week. It started near the main ranch on The Nature Conservancy property.

The Los Padres National Forest dispatched four air tankers that arrived at the island shortly after 4:30 pm the first day. They were aided on the ground by 11 National Park Service hot shot fire fighters. Santa Barbara County and Los Padres National Forest also sent out two crews of firefighters.

The ground crew effort was increased with additional firefighters, including a hotshot crew from Tonto National Forest in Arizona and teams from Sequoia and Sierra National Forests in California.

“There has been an impressive interagency effort to fight this fire: U.S. National Forest Service and National Park Service sites; Vandenberg Air Force Station; Santa Barbara County Fire; Santa Barbara City Fire; and Montecito Fire,” said Channel Islands National Park Service Superintendent Russel Galipeau. “Together, they are managing the logistical challenges of fighting fires on our remote islands and are making incredible headway. The fire appears to have not impacted any historic or cultural resources or native wildlife such as the island fox, bald eagle, or island scrub jay. We are very grateful for impressive work of all the firefighting and incident teams who worked on the Santa Cruz Fire.”

“Fire is not new to Santa Cruz Island,” said The Nature Conservancy’s California Islands Program Director Eamon O’Byrne. “We have learned over time that the island ecosystem is resilient and we are so appreciative of the hard work of the fire crews in protecting it.”

The fire burned approximately 71% nonnative species and 26% native species within its perimeter. The nonnative species included fennel, grasses, and eucalyptus logs.

“The fire appears to have not impacted any historic or cultural resources or native wildlife such as the island fox, bald eagle, or island scrub jay,” said Channel Islands National Park Service Superintendent Russel Galipeau. “We are thankful for the swift and impressive actions of our firefighting teams.”

The recent 5.3 earthquake, 57 miles south west of Channel Islands caused a slight earth slide on the island but caused no significant damage. It did scare the Bald Eagle and her new 3 chicks.

Santa Cruz Island, at 96 square miles is the largest in the chain of eight California Channel Islands. The Nature Conservancy owns 76 % of Santa Cruz Island and the National Park Service owns 24 %. Together, they cooperatively manage this island as one ecological unit.