Charges Are Dismissed for 8 in Citizen’s Arrest Cases

Trespassing charges were dismissed Friday against eight day laborers because prosecutors determined that the men were not trying to hinder business when they were placed under citizen’s arrest by merchants at a Costa Mesa shopping mall.

The men, who had all been standing in the mall parking area seeking daywork, were placed under arrest on separate days in February and March by the owner and the manager of the Vista Shopping Center at 19th Street and Placentia Avenue.

The shopkeepers had alleged that the men were loitering, harassing customers and obstructing business at the mall.

But after reviewing the cases, prosecutors decided that there was no evidence the men intended to interfere with business.

The trespassing laws under which the men were charged carry a requirement that a person must enter a property with the intention of obstructing or interfering with the rights of the owner, Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Stephan Sauer said.

Problem of Identification

Sauer also said the store owner had indicated that he might not be able to identify particular defendants as being the men he told not to trespass.

An attorney representing the men praised the prosecutors’ decision.

“I am really pleased that it worked out this way,” said Deborah Carrillo, an Orange County public defender. “I was worried that if this did end up going to trial, the men would miss a lot of work, which might be just an inconvenience for you or me, but for them would be very serious.”

Neither the owner nor the manager of the shopping center could be reached for comment Friday.

The mall has long been a gathering point for day laborers. Merchants had complained to police and city officials for years about loitering, littering and other problems they attributed to the workers.

Some immigrants’ rights groups had expressed fear that the tactic of placing the workers under citizen’s arrest for trespassing or on other charges would be used as a weapon to harass the laborers. But Carrillo said use of trespassing laws and citizen’s arrests is not likely to spread.

“I think it gave the merchants a taste of the criminal justice system and how it works; and it illustrated that these are not criminal justice problems,” she said. “I doubt that any more arrests under these conditions will be made.”

24 Arrested Thursday

Meanwhile, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service on Thursday arrested 24 people suspected of being illegal immigrants during early morning sweeps in Costa Mesa. Those arrested included an unspecified number seized in the parking lot of the Vista Shopping Center.

Other people were arrested at 20th Street and Santa Ana Avenue, and 18th Street and Park Boulevard, near Lion’s Park, which has been a frequent gathering spot for day laborers.

INS spokesman Don Brechtel said the sweeps were prompted by “rising numbers of undocumented workers in the area.”

“The Costa Mesa sites are a few of many throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties that we have been monitoring continually,”Brechtel said. “Because of the effectiveness of employer sanctions, the number of these informal labor sites has increased, (Lion’s) park being the most serious area. We will continue to enforce federal laws at these locations.”