Irwindale’s Small but Big on Issuing Gun Permits

When Newhall attorney Gary Symonds applied for a permit to carry a concealed weapon, he didn’t rely on the local police but instead made the 45-mile drive from his home to Irwindale.

Irwindale Police Chief Julian Miranda had never met Symonds, but he granted the permit after a background search and interview, explaining: “I guess it was one of those days I was understanding.”

Retired businessman Anthony Rich Jagunich also made the trip to Irwindale when he wanted a concealed weapons permit. Even though Jagunich lives in Alhambra, he was granted a permit.

“I don’t even go shopping without it,” Jagunich said, reciting a litany of urban horror stories: rape, robbery and assault, none of which has ever happened to him. “With this on my hip, at least I stand a chance.”

For those who want to carry a weapon in their coat or car, Irwindale may be the place to go.

Miranda granted 30 permits last year--the third-highest number approved by any law-enforcement agency in Los Angeles County--although Irwindale is one the smallest cities in the county with just 1,200 residents.

The list of legally armed citizens includes Vice Mayor Pat Miranda (the police chief’s older brother), Assistant City Manager Alfred F. Herrera, Chamber of Commerce Director Joseph Discianni and public relations consultant Xavier Hermosillo, architect of the city’s efforts to woo the Los Angeles Raiders.

In addition to the group of city officials, a number of out-of-towners have been granted permits, including a Los Angeles liquor store owner, a Glendora diamond merchant and a husband-wife team of gun dealers from West Covina.

What they have all found in Irwindale is one of the county’s most liberal interpretations of California’s concealed weapons law.

The law allows sheriffs and police chiefs to grant permits, valid throughout the state, as long as they believe the applicant is of “good moral character” and has a “good cause.”

The vagueness of those two terms has resulted in a baffling array of interpretations.

In some jurisdictions, such as Los Angeles, concealed weapons permits are virtually impossible to get.

The Pasadena Police Department has issued no permits in at least the last three years, despite applications from a member of the Board of Directors, a paraplegic and a domestic-law attorney whose life had been threatened.

“No one has qualified,” said Lt. Wes Rice, who is in charge of screening applicants. “I mean, a lot of people will say, ‘Hey, I carry around a lot of cash so can I carry a gun.’ Well, as far as we’re concerned, hire a guard.”

Irwindale lies at the other end of the regulatory spectrum.

“You can talk to the chief of police in a small city,” Symonds said in support of Irwindale and with a trace of disdain for departments that make it hard for citizens to legally carry a weapon.

Chief Miranda has granted permits to a secretary, a truck driver, a corporate security officer and a general contractor--none of whom, he agrees, are in any more danger than, say, the town custodian, who also has a concealed weapons permit.

“I figure I know the guy and he is going to use good judgment,” Miranda said. “If the public doesn’t want us to give permits, let them change the law.”

Miranda’s attitude toward concealed weapons permits, although liberal compared to other cities in Los Angeles County, is actually on the conservative side in the overall scheme of things.

In some jurisdictions, concealed weapons permits are handed out not by the dozens, but by the hundreds or even thousands.

More than 3,860 permits were issued in Kern County last year, easily eclipsing the 362 granted in all of Los Angeles County, which has 17 times the population. Bakersfield alone issued 424 permits last year.

In tiny Sierra County, with just 3,400 residents, 94 permits were issued last year, meaning that one out of every 35 residents could legally carry a concealed weapon.

In Los Angeles County, Irwindale’s permit count is topped only by Culver City with 98 and Montebello with 36.

Concealed weapons permits allow people to carry loaded handguns on their persons or in their cars. Keeping a weapon at home or in a place of business requires no special permit.

Some of the most common recipients are judges and reserve police officers; in some cities, such as Alhambra and San Gabriel, they are the only ones who currently hold permits.

Of the 30 permits approved by Miranda, one is held by a former municipal judge and four by active reserve officers.

The rest are in the hands of a broad cross section of the community whose need for carrying a weapon is sometimes more perceptual than real, Miranda said.

Consider the case of Irwindale city custodian Floyd R. Reyes, who has had a permit for 14 years.

Miranda said Reyes applied for a concealed weapons permit because he works alone early in the morning hours cleaning the buildings of the City Hall complex. As far as he knows, Reyes has never been in any danger while working, Miranda said. The Police Department is located next to City Hall.

Henry Perez, an Azusa dealer of weapons and police equipment, was granted a permit because he is well-known by the officers in Irwindale and considered a level-headed friend by the chief. “We buy a lot from him,” said Miranda, adding he knew of no unusual threats against Perez.

At least 10 of the 30 permits were approved by Miranda’s predecessor and have been renewed each year as a favor to the former chief, who left 12 years ago.

Miranda said even he is puzzled why some of those people have permits. Los Angeles liquor store owner Phillip Goldhammer was granted a permit 14 years ago and has had no problems renewing it every year. “Frankly, I don’t know how he got one,” Miranda said. “He’s got a liquor store in a rough area, though.”

Goldhammer, as did several others interviewed for this story, refused to comment.

One of Miranda’s top criteria in reviewing a permit is how well he knows the applicant. The vast majority of permit holders are longtime friends who probably would be rejected if they applied in other cities.

Miranda said he knows of only one case in which a permit holder abused his privilege by brandishing a gun during a barroom altercation. The man’s permit was revoked.

The criteria for getting a concealed weapons permit, especially in smaller cities, are often not much more substantial than Irwindale’s.

Monrovia Police Chief William Tubbs has a printed list of criteria, including the requirement that applicants provide a statement describing what “clear and present danger” they face.

But Tubbs said he mainly relies on his personal knowledge of applicants. He granted one permit to an out-of-town roofing contractor who had contributed money to the Police Department and helped the local YMCA, of which Tubbs is a board member.

“The people gave me the power to grant a permit and I am going to be as judicious as I can,” he said. “If I’m going to do it for anyone, why not him?”

In El Monte, Police Chief Wayne C. Clayton gave a permit to a locksmith who felt he needed to carry a gun.

“It’s a judgment call,” he said. “The desire and need for a permit has to be evaluated and a determination made. Somebody has to do it.”

Not all police chiefs are comfortable with residents carrying concealed weapons.

La Verne Police Chief W. J. Stearns said: “There are so many guns on the street I feel bad about adding to it. I’d prefer it if there were no permits.”

‘Tacit Approval’ of Use

Tubbs said the thought of an amateur wielding a gun bothers him on occasion, even when he knows the permit holder well.

“You give a permit and it’s kind of a tacit approval for them to use the gun,” he said. “That’s a dangerous set of circumstances to be confronted with.”

But Tubbs and other police chiefs said the concerns about concealed weapons permits are minor compared to dealing with the tens of thousands of illegal concealed weapons in the hands of criminals.

Miranda talks about his evidence room, which is filled with confiscated sawed-off shotguns, hunting rifles and semiautomatic pistols.

“Those are the weapons we have to worry about,” Miranda said. “Come here on a Friday night. It sounds like World War II.”

CONCEALED WEAPONS PERMITS

Number Population Permits of per 10,000 permits population Irwindale 30 1,200 250.0 El Monte 15 95,400 1.6 Monrovia 4 34,000 1.2 S. Pasadena 4 24,500 1.6 West Covina 4 94,200 0.4 La Verne 2 30,500 0.7 Covina 2 43,200 0.5 Glendora 2 47,400 0.4 Pomona 2 119,900 0.2 San Gabriel 1 34,900 0.3 Azusa 1 38,200 0.3 Arcadia 1 49,100 0.2 Alhambra 1 74,900 0.1 Claremont 0 36,500 0 San Marino 0 13,800 0 Sierra Madre 0 11,200 0 Pasadena 0 132,200 0 Monterey Park 0 64,600 0 Baldwin Park 0 63,300 0

Population figures are from the state Department of Finance as of Jan. 1, 1989.

Permit figures are from the state Office of the Attorney General and the various police departments.

Concealed weapons permits in San Gabriel Valley cities that are not listed are issued through the Sheriff’s Department.