Landlord promises to fix property
OCEAN PARK — Officials from one of Santa Monica’s largest landlords told dozens of upset tenants on Thursday they will act immediately on a handful of security concerns made more urgent by the homicide that rattled a low-income housing project here last weekend.
But officials from Community Corp. of Santa Monica, a nonprofit organization that oversees 78 buildings and 2,400 tenants, also told residents new cameras and better lighting wouldn’t have prevented the shooting, which police said was the result of a festering domestic dispute.
“To be honest with you, no amount of gadgets that we put in the building will replace (the community being involved),” said Officials called the meeting in the wake of the murder of Gabriel Becerrada, 38, a recent parolee who was found dead early Sunday on the doorstep of his girlfriend Sandra Alfaro’s apartment. Alfaro, 34, who lived in the building with two children, her 17-year-old son and his friend Luke Yeron, 19, were arrested on murder charges.
“I don’t want to call it domestic violence, but it was a domestic dispute,” said Santa Monica Police Department Sgt. Rudy Camarena, head of the robbery and homicide division. “It was something that came from within, that was kind of festering, from what we understand.”
“My direction... was I was to solve this within 24 hours. And we did.” — — RUDY CAMARENA SMPD, Sgt
Sgt. Camarena reassured residents that the shooting was an isolated incident and urged them to report all suspicious behavior to the SMPD. On the morning of the shooting, Sgt. Camarena said the SMPD got reports of shots fired from as far away as Second Street, because the sound carried from the third-floor balcony where it happened.
“My direction, from (SMPD Chief James T. Butts Jr.), was I was to solve this within 24 hours. And we did,” Sgt. Camarena told the residents, adding a total of 12 detectives worked straight for 26 hours on the case. SMPD Lt. Calisse Lindsey, who also attended the meeting, said the building has a relatively low level of crime for its size — 24 calls for service in the last six months. But it wasn’t with the police that residents appeared to have an issue. About 40 tenants came to the meeting, voicing their concerns on a variety of issues — non-tenants drinking and smoking marijuana on the grounds, prostitution in the alley behind the building, thefts in the parking area, and a broken garage gate and intercom system.
“We’re here, telling you there’s a problem,” said Peter Ryan, 53, who’s lived in the building since it opened seven years ago. Ryan added that residents have been pushing for a camera system for several years.
A contract for a new camera system was signed Wednesday and workmen will begin installing it next week, said Ling, who added the timing had nothing to do with the fatal shooting. She said the camera project has been in the works for over a year and was waiting on funding, as well as a signature from the building’s neighbor. Ling also said Community Corp. officials would talk to City Hall about installing lights in the alley and raising the height of fencing that residents complained is too low.
Anyone who sees suspicious activity is urged to make an anonymous tip to authorities by calling (800) 78-CRIME.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 13, 2004. Read the original PDF.