Hawthorne Police Probe Warning Shot Fired by Mayor

Some crime-weary Hawthorne residents think Mayor Larry Guidi was just living up to his city’s motto--”City of Good Neighbors”--when he fired a warning shot from a 9-millimeter pistol into the air to deter three juveniles who were allegedly breaking into a neighbor’s car.

But the Hawthorne police aren’t so sure.

“You have a right as a citizen to detain criminals,” Hawthorne Police Capt. Richard Prentice said. “But if you aren’t trained for it, you may wind up hurting somebody else or hurting yourself.”

No one was injured. Prentice said the results of a continuing Hawthorne police investigation of the shooting will be routinely turned over to the district attorney’s office for review.

Guidi, meanwhile, isn’t talking about the Thursday night incident. When approached outside his home by a Times reporter, Guidi turned and ran into the house. He later summoned Hawthorne police to remove the reporter from his property.

According to police, the incident began shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday when Guidi heard what sounded like a car break-in outside his home in the 4500 block of 133rd Street in Hawthorne. Armed with a pistol, Guidi, 35, apparently went out to investigate and discovered a car burglary in progress two houses away.

“He found some people breaking into a neighbor’s car,” Prentice said. “He was trying to hold them at gunpoint. At some point he got frightened and fired one shot into the air and (the alleged car burglars) ran” to their car and drove away.

A short time later, Hawthorne police responding to a 911 call detained three Inglewood youths, ages 14, 16 and 17, riding in a Volkswagen a few blocks away. The three youths were arrested on suspicion of attempted auto theft and car burglary and later released to their parents. Their names were not released.

Although discharging a firearm within the city limits is a misdemeanor, police said such a charge is not filed if the shooting is justified; for example, if a person was shooting to protect his life or the lives of others. If Guidi suddenly felt physically threatened by the youths, Prentice said, firing his weapon would probably be legally justified. However, firing a weapon solely to protect property is illegal.

Because of the possibility that a stray or falling bullet could hit someone, Hawthorne police, like most officers, are not permitted to fire warning shots. Hawthorne police said they received no reports of any injuries or property damage caused by a stray or falling bullet Thursday evening.

Police said Guidi’s pistol, which they have temporarily seized as evidence, was legally registered.

Some of Guidi’s neighbors said they believe the mayor was justified in his actions.

“We have to be extremely careful about suspicious people and things around here,” said a woman who lives next door to Guidi but did not want to be identified by name. She said the neighborhood has been hit by a rash of car thefts and burglaries in recent years, including, she said, a burglary of Guidi’s car.

Guidi “is not a raving lunatic or anything,” said neighbor Bryan Westmoreland, 19, who was not at home when the incident occurred. “He’s a nice guy. I would trust his judgment. If he fired (a shot) I would guess it was justified.”

Married and the father of four daughters, Guidi was elected mayor in 1993 after serving two years as a city councilman. An import-export company executive, he is host of a government access cable TV show called “A Taste of Hawthorne.”