Jail Term Sought in Councilman’s Truancy Case

The district attorney’s office has recommended that Councilman Odell L. Snavely serve a one-year jail term and be placed on five years probation for harboring two teen-age girls at his toy store last April when he knew they should have been in school.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Kenneth Freeman asked last week during a sentencing hearing that Snavely be given “substantial jail time” and be placed on probation. In February, Snavely pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges of contributing to the truancy of a minor.

Each count is punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.

However, Municipal Court Commissioner J. Francis Spelman postponed the sentencing after Snavely’s attorney objected to portions of a probation report. Sentencing was rescheduled for June 23 in Huntington Park Municipal Court.

The report from a probation officer of the Los Angeles County Probation Department included charges of molestation that “we didn’t plead to,” said Kenton E. Krogstad, Snavely’s lawyer. “We pleaded no contest to truancy, period.”

Spelman then asked the Probation Department to prepare “a supplemental report.” The commissioner did not elaborate on what additional information he was seeking. Krogstad said the Probation Department’s report was recommending probation for Snavely.

The Sheriff’s Department conducted a six-month investigation of Snavely after two South Gate Junior High School girls, ages 13 and 14, alleged that Snavely touched them on the breasts while they were working at his business, Del’s Gifts and Toys. Freeman said the investigation did not produce enough evidence to file molestation charges against Snavely.

But Freeman said during the April 28 hearing, “This is a very troublesome case. We have a man who is mayor (Snavely recently finished a term as mayor) of South Gate who has been convicted of contributing to the truancy of children.”

Freeman said in an interview that he had asked for the stiff sentence “because of his (Snavely’s) pattern of taking advantage of delinquent children. Even if there weren’t sexual allegations, this is still a serious charge.”

According to a Sheriffs’ Department report, which is part of Snavely’s court file, four girls claimed they had been molested by Snavely, who would pay them to help clean his store.

Snavely has denied molesting anyone and said the girls fabricated the accusations to distract from the theft of some jewelry from his store. Snavely said he had threatened to report them for truancy unless they returned the jewelry.