Editor’s note: The following is the Avalon Sheriff’s Station significant incidents report for the week of Aug. 28 to Sept. 3.
All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Many people who are arrested do not get prosecuted in the first place and many who are prosecuted do not get convicted.
August 28
• Deputies and the fire department were called to the 40 block of Pebbly Beach Road due to a 53-year-old lady having an open flame fire. It is illegal to have an open flame with all of the brush in the area. A crime report was written and will be presented to the District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration.
• Deputies received a call of two men fighting at 1 Pebbly Beach Road. Upon the deputies’ arrival, the fight was over. Deputies arrested Michael Sterling from Avalon on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol. He also suffered fresh scratches as if he had been involved in a fight.
August 29
• Deputies received a call of a dog bite in the 300 block of Sumner Avenue. Someone was walking a pit-bull when the dog leaped at another man and bit him in the hand. Both the dog and the owner walked away after the dog bite. The man’s injuries were minor and Animal Control is handling the incident.
August 30
• Deputies received a call that someone threw clothes into the street of East Whittley Avenue from a nearby apartment. Deputies contacted two intoxicated individuals who claimed they did not throw the clothes into the street but they picked them up and took them back into the residence. Deputies determined no crimes were committed.
August 31
• Deputies arrested Michael Pettigrew from Venice on suspicion of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. The arrest occurred in the 200 block of Catalina Avenue.
September 1
• Deputies arrested Giovanni Sancen from Stanton on suspicion of being drunk in public and for a $15,000 driving under the influence of alcohol warrant. Sancen was passed out on a sidewalk when deputies and paramedics were called. The arrest occurred in the 100 block of Catalina Avenue.
• Deputies arrested Oscar Vega from Avalon on suspicion of drunk driving and not having a driver’s license in the 100 block of Sumner Avenue.
September 2
• Deputies conducted traffic enforcement regarding seatbelt enforcement due to the recent fatality. Deputies educated the public on wearing seatbelts while driving rental golf carts. (You are required to wear seatbelts while in a golf cart.)
• Deputies responded to a hate crime call where a suspect assaulted a victim and called him homophobic and mental disability epithets. The suspect allegedly jumped out of a back window of the residence in the 200 block of Whitley Avenue as the deputies arrived.
September 3
• Deputies arrested Brandon Venable from Avalon on suspicion of committing the previous hate crime that occurred on Sept. 2, 2019. Based on warrants, Venable was also arrested on suspicion of burglary and a driving recklessly. The warrants totaled $90,000.
Safety Note
When driving a rental golf cart, please wear your seatbelts. It could save your life.
