Soothing Relief : Judge’s Rx for Eating a Cough Drop on Blue Line: Dismissal

One man’s sore throat can turn into another man’s sore feelings.

That is how the case of the trolley line lozenge seemed to end Tuesday in Compton Municipal Court as a charge of “illegal eating” was dismissed against a 31-year-old Long Beach man.

Ricky Gonzales was accused of misdemeanor munching after Sheriff’s Deputy Brandan Hinkle caught him standing on the Metro Blue Line’s Florence Avenue passenger platform with a suspicious substance in his mouth.

“Cough drop,” claimed Gonzales. “Candy,” contended Hinkle.

Gonzales was in court to argue that he had the flu Nov. 23 when Hinkle noticed him sucking on a Halls Mentho-Lyptus Cough Suppressant Tablet. That’s medicine, not food--so he should not have to cough up a $250 fine for the offense, said the unemployed maintenance man.

Hinkle was there to urge Commissioner Ellen DeShazerr not to swallow that excuse. He had seen hard candy in Gonzales’ mouth--the kind of snack that leaves trolley seats sticky and floors filthy, said the deputy.

But after conferring with Gonzales’ volunteer attorney and Hinkle’s train-patrol supervisor, DeShazerr came up with her own Rx. She agreed to dismiss the charge if Gonzales would visit a Blue Line equipment yard to see how workers struggle to keep the rail cars clean.

Afterward, both lawyer George Bird Jr. and Sheriff’s Lt. Ted Siara claimed victory.

Said Bird: “It’s a win for Mr. Gonzales. I didn’t want to see the sheriff with any more egg on his face--I would have appealed a conviction to Superior Court.”

Said Siara: “I think Mr. Gonzales has gotten the message. What the judge did was validate the law. Cleanliness conveys a sense of safety to passengers.”

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But the ruling was more of a bitter pill for Hinkle.

“I certainly know the difference between candy and a cough drop,” he said outside the courtroom. “I’m certainly not going to cite someone for taking medication on the Blue Line. I saw him sucking on hard candy.”

Hinkle predicted that the dismissal would send a “mixed message” to Blue Line riders--about 150 or so receive citations each month for eating candy, sipping beverages or snacking on the Los Angeles-to-Long Beach route.

It certainly sent something of a mixed message to Gonzales.

On one hand, “I feel good they now believe it was a cough drop,” he said.

But on the other, he said also feels another cold coming on.

Glancing toward Hinkle, he added: “I’m not going to take a cough drop on the Blue Line again.”