SANTA PAULA : Gun Incident at Club May Limit Program

Leaders of the Santa Paula Boys & Girls Club on Friday proposed limiting a community service program for juvenile offenders after a 15-year-old boy brought a loaded pistol into the center.

Members of the executive committee of the club’s board of directors will recommend to the full board next month that juveniles with a history of any type of weapons offense not be given the option of performing community service at the club.

According to Santa Paula police, the 15-year-old had previously been caught with a switchblade knife. He had been ordered to perform community service at the club.

James Gilden, a board member, said the club does not want to eliminate the program altogether because “we feel it’s important to serve many of the youth in Santa Paula, including the at-risk youth.”

The program in question is run by the county’s Corrections Services Agency and gives juveniles who commit less serious crimes the option to make amends through work rather than being put on formal probation.

Board members and staff at the club said they were stunned after the 15-year-old was caught with a loaded 9mm semiautomatic pistol Monday evening. A staff member took the gun away from the youth after it had been unloaded.

“This kind of behavior won’t be tolerated at the Santa Paula Boys & Girls Club,” Gilden said. “You bring a weapon, you go to jail.”

The club’s full board will take up the issue Oct. 13 when representatives from the corrections agency and Santa Paula police are scheduled to address the board.