Buena Park Wins Round in Homeless-Church Trial

The Rev. Wiley Drake, battling criminal charges of violating zoning laws by housing homeless people at his church, will not be allowed to use evidence of similar zoning violations on neighboring properties, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Judge Gregg L. Prickett sided with the attorney for the city of Buena Park that such evidence is not relevant in the case against Drake, the First Southern Baptist Church and church board member Vondel Mumaw.

Drake’s attorney, Jon Alexander, has accused the city of selective code enforcement. In opening statements this week, Alexander said city officials were prosecuting his client for allowing recreational vehicles on church grounds while ignoring the same situation on a nearby property. The officials also failed to notice open containers containing bloody gauze at a business blocks from the church, Alexander said.

However, Gregg, ruling in Municipal Court in Fullerton, did leave the door open for some of that evidence, Alexander said, if it is used to challenge the credibility of the inspectors.

Gregory Palmer, assistant city prosecutor, told the judge that because no complaints had been lodged against the businesses in question, code enforcement officers had no reason to investigate them. But neighbors repeatedly had complained about the church, Palmer said.

“We believe the judge made the correct call. We never thought that it was a valid issue to bring up in the first place,” he said.

City officials say the zoning violations at the church threaten public safety.

The case against Drake focuses on a patio structure and a nearby campground, the prosecutor said. The patio, which is used as a storage and distribution center, is cluttered with food and clothing and presents a fire and safety hazard, he said. Nor does the church have the required building permit for the patio, Palmer said.

The defense is expected to argue that Drake did not break the law because he was saving the lives of the homeless in an emergency. Buena Park has no homeless shelter, Alexander said.

“If [the homeless] don’t have this place, they would either be out walking the streets, back under the overpasses or under the sky, probably breaking the law,” he said.

Prickett is expected to decide today whether evidence supporting the emergency argument will be permitted in the jury trial.

Drake has provided food and shelter for 20 to 30 homeless people at any given time for about three years, despite pressure from neighbors and even some congregants.

Since June 1996, city and county officials have sent dozens of letters and repeatedly inspected the church, at Western Avenue and Melrose Street. They reportedly have found tents pitched side by side, with mattresses, clothes and food.

On Tuesday, the prosecution argued that the church didn’t have to violate the law to help the homeless.

“I can think of dozens of alternatives that they have,” Palmer said, including building a permanent distribution site that meets city zoning laws.