From Oceano Dunes deaths to police chief’s lost gun: SLO County’s top stories of 2019
From police scandals and the persistent housing crisis to jaw-dropping floral landscapes and gnarly brushes with death, 2019 was a year that kept reporters across the Central Coast on their toes.
Here are The Tribune’s top 10 stories of 2019, along with some honorable mentions for good measure:
10. Surfer fought off shark attack at Montaña de Oro
A surfer said he “got off real lucky” after being bit and injured by a shark at Montana de Oro State Park near Los Osos in January.
Cal Poly student Nick Wapner was surfing with friends about 100 yards offshore on Sandspit Beach on Jan. 8 when a 15-foot-long shark thought to be a great white clamped down on his right ankle and up to his left thigh.
Wapner was able to kick at the shark and free himself. He later received about 50 stitches to close the wounds, saying he was “happy to be alive.”
The surfer was back in the water within four months.
9. SLO police officer fatally shot a couple’s dog
A San Luis Obispo police officer is facing a signature-gathering effort for his removal after he fatally shot a couple’s unleashed dog in September while responding to a reported burglary across the street from the city’s Police Station.
Officer Joshua Walsh responded to the 600 block of Santa Rosa Street after receiving reports of a possible burglary, with a caller saying that someone had jumped out of an apartment’s broken window.
When Walsh and another officer walked up a driveway toward an apartment complex, Bubbers, the 7-year-old pit bull-boxer mix, allegedly approached. Walsh “feared for his safety,” the department later said, and fired three shots, two of which hit Bubbers.
The dog later died of his injuries.
Bubbers’ owners, Riley Manafort and Nick Regalia, say the dog did not advance on Walsh. They say the police officer ignored Manafort’s reassurances that Bubbers was friendly and shot the dog as Manafort was in the process of restraining him.
The department has refused to release body camera footage of the incident. Reports of a burglary were determined to be unfounded.
8. SLO County’s homeless crisis got worse
San Luis Obispo County’s homeless population has increased by almost a third since its last census, a trend consistent with the rest of the state, a report released in August shows.
The county in January conducted its biannual count of homeless people, a one-day survey of the area’s homeless population required of all regions that receive federal aid money.
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The census counted 1,483 people experiencing homelessness, up nearly 32% from the 1,125 people counted in 2017. Still, the latest results represent a decline from 2013, when 2,186 people were counted, and 2015, when 1,515 people were counted.
Both the city of San Luis Obispo and San Luis Obispo County ramped up joint law enforcement and social services programs to help the area’s chronic homeless communities, linking individuals with services and housing.
7. A wildflower ‘superbloom’ hit the Central Coast
“Disneyland-size crowds” of flower-watchers from across the state flocked to the Carrizo Plain National Monument in eastern San Luis Obispo County to view the a rare wildflower “superbloom.”
The winter’s above-average rainfall led to a particularly healthy springtime bloom from San Diego County to locations across the Central Coast that lasted several weeks.
On Twitter and Instagram, users posted hundreds of photos and videos with the hashtag #TracktheBloom to showcase the beautiful blossoms.
But trouble followed the increased traffic to the area. Visitors got stuck in the mud, blocked traffic and trespassed onto private property in their quests for the perfect view.
6. Cambria gas station manager stopped an Amber Alert suspect
State officials in December issued an Amber Alert for a San Jose man who allegedly stabbed and injured his girlfriend before kidnapping the couple’s 2-year-old daughter and fleeing the scene.
After the alert went out, Victor Magana made a fateful stop at the Old Cambria Marketplace and Shell station on Main Street in Cambria, where he reportedly locked his keys and his daughter in his car.
Seeing Magana attempt to smash the window with a rock, station manager Eric Johnson jumped into action.
After Magana refused to drop the rock, Johnson said, he placed him in a chokehold until State Parks rangers arrived and took Magana into custody. The 2-year-old was turned over to county Child Welfare Services.
“I just did what anybody else would have done,” Johnson later told The Tribune.
5. SLO County clerk-recorder’s wife convicted of embezzlement
In a year with several high-profile cases of embezzlement by bookkeepers of local businesses and nonprofit groups, locals were shocked by the theft of about $32,000 from an Atascadero booster club by the wife of San Luis Obispo County’s elected clerk-recorder.
Sherry Gong, wife of clerk-recorder Tommy Gong, was charged in July with three felony counts of grand theft for taking money belonging to the Atascadero High School Band and Pageantry Booster Club while serving as the club’s treasurer.
She admitted to borrowing funds with the intention of repaying the club after a family member begged for an ”emergency loan,” declaring it was a “matter of life or death,” according to her attorney.
Sherry Gong pleaded guilty to all three felonies a month later and had repaid the amount she took from the booster club by the time she was sentenced to 180 days in San Luis Obispo County Jail in October. She’s scheduled to be released in February.
4. SLO employee loses job after bar assault sparks outrage
A San Luis Obispo city building inspector left his job after video surfaced of his alleged assault of two patrons of Mr. Rick’s bar in Avila Beach in 2016.
Christopher Olcott, who worked in the city’s community development department, can be seen on video knocking a woman at the bar unconscious and punching her male companion before being restrained.
Olcott accepted a plea deal to a misdemeanor battery charge after his felony assault trial ended in a hung jury and the San Luis obispo County District Attorney’s Office declined to retry the case.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office and a judge agreed to allow Olcott to serve a 60-day sentence at a “pay-to-stay” jail in Seal Beach rather than at County Jail after he allegedly received death threats.
Though the city took no disciplinary action against Olcott until after his case was publicized, the city said in September that Olcott “is no longer employed by the city.”
3. Landlords evicted tenants from Paso Robles apartments instead of making fixes
The struggle for affordable housing continued to be a crucial issue across California in 2019. In Paso Robles, more than 200 people were evicted from a low-income apartment complex after challenging their allegedly negligent landlords.
In May, residents of the Grand View Apartments on Spring Street filed a class-action lawsuit against Santa Barbara-based landlords Ebrahim and Fahimeh Madadi, who have owned the 66-year-old complex since 2012.
Tenants alleged that Grand View was basically uninhabitable and plagued with mold, insect infestations, leaks, broken windows, sewage backups, a flooded parking lot and raw sewage — causing significant health problems for people living in its 54 apartment units.
A San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge issued an order prohibiting the landlords from collecting rent or removing tenants from the complex premises. But when an inspection revealed a list of costly repairs, the Madadis decided to go out of business instead of spending an estimated $2.5 million to renovate the property.
Tenants were served with 60- and 90-day eviction orders in late September. They’re being provided with minor relocation expenses as they search for scarce new housing.
The class-action lawsuit against the Madadis is ongoing.
2. SLO police chief was reprimanded for losing gun in public
San Luis Obispo Police Chief Deanna Cantrell had a rough year.
While using the restroom at the El Pollo Loco restaurant on Los Osos Valley Road in July, Cantrell inadvertantly left behind her police-issue handgun, a Glock 42, in the stall. When she returned looking for it, it was gone.
Cantrell came clean about the mistake in a YouTube video, but not before surveillance footage released by the San Luis Obispo Police Department showing the suspected gun thief led to the misidentification of another man. He was arrested with his wife on unrelated child endangerment charges that the couple continues to fight.
The man who took the gun later returned it, and, despite a request from the Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office declined to charge him.
Cantrell faced a one-time pay reduction of about $1,600. She was also required to take firearm safety training and host a discussion with all members of the city’s Police Department about the incident.
About a month later, the police chief’s personal car was stolen in Santa Margarita while in the possession of Cantrell’s son, and recovered in the Bay Area.
The CHP said a key may have been left in visible sight inside the locked car.
1. Oceano Dunes saw deaths, downwind dust and a shooting
Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area came under increased scrutiny this year after multiple vehicle-related deaths, a late-night shooting, and ongoing air pollution in downwind communities underscored public safety concerns.
The future of vehicles at the park near Pismo Beach came into question by several regulatory agencies. By the end of the year, State Parks director Lisa Mangat committed to closing part of a popular camping area.
Meanwhile, State Parks proposed a redesign of the park with a new entrance at Oso Flaco.
Here’s a round-up of major events related to the Oceano Dunes:
Shooting in May: Five people were injured when a gunman opened fire during an unpermitted concert. An Oakland man was arrested in the case, and remains in custody awaiting trial.
Death on the dunes: It was the deadliest year at the dunes in at least 20 years. Six people died in vehicle-related collisions by July, adding to a growing list of at least 44 who have died there since 1992.
Proposal to phase out vehicles: Coastal Commission staff suggested phasing out vehicles at the park, with a recommendation to limit off-road riding for dust mitigation efforts and prohibit creek crossing for environmental reasons.
At a July meeting, commissioners rejected the plan after hearing from hundreds of park users and local leaders who cited the Oceano Dunes’ importance to the local economy.
State Parks knew about poor air quality: A Tribune investigation found that a plume of dust that blows downwind from riding areas at the Oceano Dunes during wind events is a major health risk to thousands of residents.
State Parks knew about the risk for years and fought efforts by air quality regulators to reduce the problem.
New abatement order from air pollution regulators: State Parks was taken in front of an air quality hearing board after allegedly failing to comply with an order to reduce dust. Faced with possible sanctions, State Parks agreed in November to close 48 acres of camping area by the end of the year to establish a vegetated foredune.
Additional acreage was fenced off in the riding area, and more closures are on the horizon in order to comply with a 2023 deadline to reduce dust above natural levels by 50%.
Other popular stories of 2019
Here are some other top Tribune stories from the year:
- San Luis Obispo County had the highest number of homicides in seven years.
- Sheriff’s officials solved a 40-year-old cold double-murder case from Atascadero.
- San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport added direct flights to Las Vegas, Portland and San Diego.
- Mission Prep running back Patrick Laird made his first pro touchdown after signing with the Miami Dolphins.
- Cannabis businesses were approved in local cities, but pot raids continued.
- A tour bus carrying country musician Josh Turner’s road crew from a show at Vina Robles Amphitheater crashed near Shandon, killing one person and injuring seven.
- The luxury Hotel San Luis Obispo opened downtown as a second high-end property, Hotel Cerro prepared for its debut in January.
- Local law enforcement agencies released officer shooting and misconduct records after a new law took effect.
- 2019 marked the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the bodies of murder victims Aundria Crawford and Rachel Newhouse.
- The San Luis Obispo City Council passed a policy to encourage all-electric homes.
This story was originally published December 29, 2019 at 5:00 AM.