...THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE REFUSED TO BRING CHARGES... "WE COULD NOT PROVE THE ACT WAS UNJUSTIFIABLE," [DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY STEVEN] IPSON SAID...EL MONTE POLICE CHIEF KEN WELDON:
"WE CONTINUE TO FULLY SUPPORT OUR MAYOR"
And if the police SUPPORT the mayor, who is left to investigate him? And Lord, who is protecting the woman?
EL MONTE MAYOR ARRESTED
SAN GABRIEL VALLEY TRIBUNE, CA
BY REBECCA KIMITCH
11/18/2008 06:26:28 PM PST
[EXCERPTS] EL MONTE - ERNIE GUTIERREZ, THE MAYOR OF EL MONTE, WAS ARRESTED EARLY TUESDAY ON SUSPICION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND DETAINED FOR MOST OF THE DAY, POLICE SAID. THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE REFUSED TO BRING CHARGES AGAINST GUTIERREZ... GUTIERREZ WAS HELD BY POLICE WHILE THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE REVIEWED THE CASE. HE WAS RELEASED WHEN OFFICIALS DETERMINED THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO CHARGE HIM. GUTIERREZ WAS ARRESTED ABOUT 2:15A.M. AND WAS BOOKED AT L.A. COUNTY JAIL, ACCORDING TO EL MONTE POLICE LT. ROBERT ROACH. "THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO MOVE FORWARD," WELDON SAID. "WE CONTINUE TO FULLY SUPPORT OUR MAYOR"... COUNCILMAN ART BARRIOS AND COUNCILWOMEN EMILY ISHIGAKI AND PATRICIA WALLACH ALSO DECLINED TO COMMENT... GUTIERREZ'S PERSONAL LIFE CAME UNDER SCRUTINY EARLIER THIS YEAR WHEN THE MAYOR ATTENDED A CITY EVENT ALLEGEDLY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL. WITH GUTIERREZ WAS A WOMAN IDENTIFIED AS HIS GIRLFRIEND, GRACIELA SOLANO. GUTIERREZ HAS DENIED THE ALLEGATION. GUTIERREZ'S WIFE, OLGA, SAID TUESDAY NIGHT SHE WAS NOT AWARE HE WAS ARRESTED. SHE ADDED GUTIERREZ HAS NEVER BEEN VIOLENT WITH HER. SOLANO COULD NOT BE REACHED FOR COMMENT. EL MONTE RESIDENT FRANCISCO MAGDALENO, A COMMUNITY ACTIVIST WHO REGULARLY ATTENDS CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, SAID HE WAS CONCERNED THE MAYOR WAS LEADING THE COUNCIL MEETING AFTER HAVING BEEN ARRESTED. "HE SHOULD BE IN JAIL," MAGDALENO SAID. "IT'S A BAD IMAGE FOR OUR COMMUNITY." [FULL ARTICLE HERE]
MAYOR'S ACTIONS IN ALLEGED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MAY HAVE BEEN IN SELF-DEFENSE
WHITTIER DAILY NEWS, CA
BY TANIA CHATILA
POSTED: 11/19/2008 09:28:33 PM PST
[EXCERPTS] EL MONTE - MAYOR ERNIE GUTIERREZ MAY HAVE BEEN ACTING IN SELF DEFENSE IN AN INCIDENT THAT LED TO HIS ARREST EARLIER THIS WEEK, AUTHORITIES SAID WEDNESDAY... A DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SPOKESMAN SAID WEDNESDAY THAT PROSECUTORS REJECTED THE CASE BECAUSE THERE WAS NO CLEAR EVIDENCE THE MAYOR WASN'T DEFENDING HIMSELF. "THERE COULD HAVE BEEN SOME MUTUAL COMBAT," SAID DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY STEVEN IPSON. IPSON SAID IT WAS DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED THE DAY OF THE INCIDENT, THOUGH DOCUMENTS FROM THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY STATE A WITNESS TOLD AUTHORITIES THAT THE ALLEGED VICTIM POURED A BEER ON GUTIERREZ. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO PROSECUTORS BY THE EL MONTE POLICE DEPARTMENT SHOWED BOTH GUTIERREZ AND THE VICTIM EACH SUFFERED MINOR INJURIES, IPSON SAID. GUTIERREZ SHOWED REDNESS AND BRUISING ON HIS STOMACH AND CHEST, AND THE VICTIM HAD SOME REDNESS AND BRUISING ON HER FACE AND BODY, IPSON SAID. THE INCIDENT WAS REPORTED A WEEK AFTER THE EVENT... "WE COULD NOT PROVE THE ACT WAS UNJUSTIFIABLE," IPSON SAID. GUTIERREZ APPEARED TUESDAY NIGHT AT THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING. GUTIERREZ'S WIFE, OLGA, SAID TUESDAY THAT SHE WAS NOT INVOLVED IN THE ALTERCATION AND DID KNOW HER HUSBAND HAD BEEN ARRESTED. AUTHORITIES REFUSED TO IDENTIFY THE FEMALE INVOLVED... [Full article here]
PDF: City Staff Report (Caution Adult Language)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sgvtribune.com/extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site205/2008/0624/20080624_072218_SV25-REPORT.pdf
El Monte won't do 2nd probe on mayor
Report: Mayor denies conduct allegations
By Jennifer McLain
Article Launched: 06/24/2008
EL MONTE - The city has declined to hire an outside investigator to look into allegations that the mayor acted inappropriately at a city event, according to a report released Tuesday.
City officials conducted an in-house investigation after a resident accused Mayor Ernie Gutierrez of groping his girlfriend, being drunk and shouting vulgarities at a May 3 event. The report concluded there does not appear to be sufficient information to hire an investigator.
Gutierrez, who is married, did not return calls. But in the two-page report he denied all of the allegations.
"The mayor affirmed that none of his actions were inappropriate, and in fact he was so well received that one of the visitors asked that he would be the padrino, or godfather, to her soon-to-be-born child," the report stated.
The two-page report addressed accusations made by Henry August, who at a May 6 council meeting accused the mayor of embarrassing the city.
City Council members said they wanted staff to investigate the allegations because they considered it to be in the public's interest.
The report concluded El Monte should not spend additional time on the matter, but Councilwoman
Pat Wallach said she intends to address the issue.
"I will be making a statement about this at the next council meeting," Wallach said.
The next meeting is July 7.
El Monte City Council members have all received the report, which contains the summary of interviews with nine out of 10 commissioners and Gutierrez.
But City Manager Jim Mussenden wrote Gutierrez might wish to meet with commission members to "air any concerns and allay any fears that these issues could recur."
The report stated two commissioners heard Gutierrez use foul language.
The mayor, however, indicated the commissioner who said she overheard those comments, "was too busy assisting and running the dinner that she couldn't have overheard any statements."
Councilman Art Barrios said if Gutierrez did act inappropriately, then he should apologize.
"His statements are that he didn't say those things, and we've got two people saying that he did," Barrios said. "It is his word against their word. If he did something wrong, he needs to apologize."
Other allegations addressed in the report concluded commissioners did not notice slurred speech or "typical `drunk' behavior."
Barrios added there are more important things the city should be spending its time on.
"I'm looking at the budget problem we have right now," Barrios said. "We need to look at what is best for the city, and dragging this out is not what is best."
jennifer.mclain@sgvn.com
(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2477
www.insidesocal.com/sgvgov
https://www.sgvtribune.com/ci_9688380