No Prosecutions in Del Mar Beach Brawl

The San Diego County district attorney’s office announced Wednesday that it will not prosecute the youthful party-goers arrested Sept. 4 after a nighttime confrontation with sheriff’s deputies at River Mouth Beach in Del Mar.

Dist. Atty. Edwin Miller, in a letter to the Del Mar city attorney, said that “taking the cases to trial elevates them to more than they are worth.”

The beach ruckus, which began as a protest against a proposed ban on fires and drinking on the beach, led to renewed calls by homeowners for a crackdown on wild parties. Two weeks later, the Del Mar City Council adopted a six-month ban on all beach bonfires.

Miller’s decision elated protest organizer Mike Tostado. But a sheriff’s lieutenant predicted that deputies will be disappointed and frustrated.

“Hey, that makes my day,” said Tostado, 22, an Encinitas resident and computer chip marketing specialist. “I’m surprised. I thought they were going to land on us heavy to try to scare everyone else. Now I can see what my attorney says about suing the Sheriff’s Department.”

Lt. Kathy Fulmer, in charge of patrol deputies at the Encinitas station, which serves Del Mar, said that, by not filing charges, Miller is “sending a message to the public that nothing is going to happen to them if they break the law at the beach.”

‘Very Frustrating’

“It’s very frustrating for deputies to spend time trying to enforce the law and end up just spinning their wheels,” Fulmer said. “The Sheriff’s Department is trying to provide adequate service to the public. You would think the rest of the criminal justice system would help.”

The arrests occurred after deputies attempted to enforce a Del Mar ordinance prohibiting beach fires after 10 p.m. and requiring permits for beach parties of more than 50 people.

In all, 40 deputies confronted a crowd of several hundred revelers. Rocks, bottles and cans filled with sand were hurled at deputies.

Nine people, including Tostado, were arrested and accused of failing to disperse and unlawful assembly, both misdemeanors. Violation of the Del Mar ordinance is only an infraction, akin to a traffic ticket, not a criminal charge.

Miller noted that no citations were written for the Del Mar ordinance and “fortunately” no deputy or party-goer was injured.

Given those facts, Miller said, criminal prosecution is not appropriate. He also referred to the Sheriff’s Department’s own decision last year to drop charges arising from a Del Mar beach brawl between deputies and party-goers on July 4, 1986.

“In the not too distant past, the Sheriff’s Department foreclosed prosecution in a similar incident,” Miller said. “It is my intention to ensure that we approach these situations with some measure of consistency.”

Tougher Ordinance

He called for a meeting among the district attorney’s office, the Del Mar city attorney and the Sheriff’s Department on how to handle beach problems.

“It is my view that the proper manner in which to proceed would be to cite violators for their infractions and to advocate maximum fines be levied by the court,” Miller wrote to Del Mar City Atty. Roger Krauel.

Del Mar Councilwoman Brooke Eisenberg, a leading proponent of banning beach bonfires, said Miller’s decision shows why Del Mar needs a tougher ordinance.

The previous ordinance allowed bonfires in city-owned concrete fire rings until 10 p.m. The problem, Eisenberg said, was that, by 10 p.m., the crowds drawn by the bonfires were so large and rowdy that enforcement was nearly impossible.

Under a new ordinance, to take effect for six months starting Nov. 3, only fires for cooking will be allowed, and then only in portable barbecue grills. The rationale: no bonfires, no big crowds, no big problem.

“I don’t think it will happen again,” Eisenberg said, referring to the melee. In the belief that the bonfire ban is the answer, the council has shelved the idea of a ban on drinking.

Eisenberg said she endorses the idea of a meeting among Del Mar, the district attorney and the sheriff on beach enforcement--as long as beach problems in Del Mar are prosecuted as vigorously as in other cities.

River Mouth Beach, at Del Mar’s northern boundary, just north of the San Dieguito River and west of the Del Mar fairgrounds and Highway 101, has attracted a devoted following among young people in North County.

Until the recent council action, River Mouth was one of the few beaches that allowed both bonfires and drinking. The new ordinance will be evaluated in the spring to see if the council wants to extend it.

Seven adults and two juveniles were arrested Sept. 4, but, by the time the case reached the district attorney’s office, the Sheriff’s Department had decided not to seek charges against two of the adults.