South Gate : Ex-Councilman Apologizes; Battery Charges Dropped
Charges of battery and disturbing the peace were dropped against a former South Gate councilman this week after he agreed to apologize to the City Council and several of its members about a confrontation during a September council meeting.
According to city officials, the district attorney’s office agreed to drop the charges if Odell Snavely apologized. The 73-year-old former councilman read a statement of apology during last Monday’s meeting.
During the September meeting, Snavely entered the council chamber through a door behind the City Council, grabbed the chair of then-Councilman Gregory Slaughter, spun it around and handed the astonished Slaughter recall papers. Slaughter later complained that the action aggravated an old shoulder injury, and filed charges of battery against Snavely.
The recall effort targeting then-Mayor Robert A. Philipp, Slaughter and Councilman Larry Leonard quickly fizzled.
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