Hate Rears Its Ugly Head in Our Own Backyard

Unfortunately, Ventura County has its share of hate crimes.

Since January 1998, there have been seven reports of arson, vandalism and phone threats against Jewish people, businesses, and one synagogue, according to statistics from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

None was life-threatening, but all have assumed greater importance since the shooting at a Jewish community center in Granada Hills last week.

“We have the idea that it will always happen someplace else, but I can guarantee you we are all going to be touched by this,” said Susan Abrams, a member of the Tri-County Hate Network.

Despite aggressive investigation of the crimes, the people responsible rarely are caught, authorities said. Few of the 36 hate crimes reported in Ventura County since January 1998--and none against Jews--have been filed by prosecutors.

Prosecutors Brian Rafelson and Bill Redmond said people who commit hate crimes often do their dirty work in the middle of the night and are rarely seen.

Some leave anonymous phone threats or vandalize homes and cars.

In many cases, victims are afraid to report the crimes, fearing retaliation, Abrams said.

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Police have arrested three people in connection with a string of vehicle burglaries at hotel parking lots between Agoura Hills and Camarillo.

The trio was taken into custody last week after deputies watched them break into a car outside a hotel on Verdugo Way in Camarillo, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Larry Kelley.

“We do believe they have been involved in a series of hotel vehicle burglaries up and down the 101 Freeway since March,” Kelley said.

At the time of their arrests, two suspects were wearing a watch, ring and bracelet allegedly stolen during another car burglary the same day.

Two dozen thefts have been reported at five hotels in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, Kelley said. The loot included jewelry, clothes and laptop computers valued at more than $5,000. Little has been recovered.

More than a dozen of the burglaries took place at the Camarillo hotel where the suspects were arrested.

“That’s pretty bold to keep coming back,” said Eric Nishimoto, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman.

It’s also pretty dumb. Deputies nabbed the trio after conducting surveillance at the hotel since July.

Patricio Farina, 37; Hector Vega, 38; and Susan Pizarro, 29, all of the San Fernando Valley, remained jailed Sunday night.

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What happens to a criminal defendant when he is found unfit to stand trial?

Take Mikhail Khaimchayev, who is accused of gunning down his former boss at a Camarillo computer software firm in January. He was diagnosed as psychotic and severely depressed after his arrest.

Doctors reached those conclusions last month, based on interviews with him and a family history of schizophrenia, said defense attorney Howard Asher.

Khaimchayev was bused to Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino County last week.

“Their job is to find out what’s going on with him and make him competent to stand trial,” said prosecutor Kathleen O’Brien.

Patton is a tiny town with a mental hospital and a post office. The hospital is a 130-acre expanse of lush lawns and trees and consists of three housing compounds for patients.

Khaimchayev has his own twin bed and wardrobe closet. Patients can move freely between rooms and a centralized nursing station. With good behavior, they earn privileges that include strolling the grounds, swimming in the hospital pool or playing basketball or soccer on one of several playing fields, Barrett said.

Khaimchayev will take classes teaching him how the justice system works, who the players are in a courtroom and how to control stress.

For practice, mock trials are held in a room set up like a court of law, Barrett said.

And if he hasn’t already, Khaimchayev will meet with psychiatrists for therapy and likely be put on medication.

Three of the 1,200 patients at Patton are from Ventura County.

It costs the state $250 a day to house a person at Patton, and the average stay for most patients is 90 days. About 5% are committed for more than three years.

No one knows when Khaimchayev is coming back to stand trial.

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He doesn’t leap tall buildings in a single bound or have X-ray vision, but Simi Valley Police Officer Tim Brown is like “Superman,” say his peers.

In 25 years as a cop, Brown has been benched by gunfire or severe illness three times. He could have hung up the holster at any time--many injured cops do--but he recovered quickly after each setback and returned to work.

“The guy’s unbelievable. He keeps working and working and working. He’s supercop,” said Lt. Rex Jones.

In May, four months after having a kidney transplant at UCLA Medical Center, the 47-year-old officer returned to his job as a school resource officer, teaching crime prevention to students.

For six months prior to the operation, Brown worked his beat with a 12-inch tube protruding from his gut that allowed him to administer the dialysis solution that kept him alive.

He didn’t tell anyone. “I was going to do everything I could to stay on the job, because I love it,” Brown said.

In August 1994, Brown was rushed by ambulance to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with clogged arteries in his heart. Three angioplasty surgeries later, the problem still wasn’t fixed.

About four months later, Brown spent four hours on the operating table for double-bypass surgery. Not long afterward, he was back on the job full time.

And in 1977, six weeks after being shot in the leg by a bank robber, Brown was back patrolling the streets in Inglewood, where he spent six years on the job before joining the Simi Valley force in 1980.

“It has a lot to do with how you think about things. My recovery was 100%. If you feel you are healthy, you are healthy,” Brown said.

Holly Wolcott can be reached by e-mail at holly.wolcott@latimes.com.