Man Is Arrested in Candy-Selling Case

Six New Mexico youths who had been promised a trip to Disneyland were instead put to work for as long as 10 hours a day selling candy in shopping centers, sheriff’s deputies here said Friday.

Gary Steven Davis, 37, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of willful cruelty to children and child endangerment after one of the boys tried to sell a sheriff’s detective a chocolate bar for $5 in the parking lot of a K mart store in Diamond Bar, the detective, Manny Madrid, said. Davis was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

According to authorities, Davis allegedly had promised the parents, all of whom are rearing children in low-income circumstances, that he would bring the boys to Southern California to treat them to a day at Disneyland. The boys, whose ages range from 11 to 16, had all apparently done similar work for Davis in Albuquerque for about a month, Madrid said.

Sheriff’s Deputy Dean Scoville said that the boys, who have been in Southern California since Sunday, were put to work, sometimes unsupervised and alone, as “indentured servants.” Each day, authorities said, the boys were dropped off at various shopping centers to sell the candy bars. The boys were allegedly allowed to keep $1.50 for each bar sold but were charged $4 a day each for lodging at a motel and were not provided food.

Sheriff’s deputies had not determined how much money the boys were able to make, but Madrid said: “Some weren’t selling anything. I found one standing in front of a market crying.”

Except for being unable to buy enough to feed themselves, none of the boys appeared to have been otherwise abused, Madrid said.

The youths were turned over to Los Angeles County social workers and given shelter, Madrid said. Their parents were contacted by sheriff’s deputies and plans were made for the boys to be picked up in Southern California sometime Friday.

Madrid said the boy who approached him “gave me a spiel about how they get to go to Disneyland. When I asked who he represented, he gave me a card that said something like, ‘Let’s Keep Kids Responsible.”’

The youth then directed Madrid to Davis, who was sitting in a car nearby. As he questioned Davis, Madrid said, he found that Davis had no business license or work permits for the children. Davis then directed Madrid to each boy dropped off at the shopping areas earlier in the day, Madrid said.