County
of
Los
Ange(es
ShE riff'5
epartment
Headquarters
4700
Ramona Boulevard Monterey Park,
al~fornia
91754-2169
Bel'0Y
D
7inea)
C5/H /-.Jj
December
29 2009
Mr.
Joseph Zernik
PO
Box 526
La
VHrne, California 91750 Dear
Mr.
Zernik: This letter is
in
response to your fax request for access to arrest and booking papers
of
inmates: Richard Fine, Booking No. 1824367 and
~onqld
Gottschalk, Booking No. 2088144. Your request addressed to Sheriff Baca states:
In
responsH to requests for assistance by Superyisor Antonovich regarding denial of access to public records by your office, where public access was provided by California Public Records Act, Supervisor Antonovich's office informed
me
that your office stated that you faxed
me
a response bn November
4 2009.
I have no record
of
such fax, and would
be
grateful
if
you
cbuld send it again, hoping that it indeed included the requested public records -arrest and booking records of:
1.
Booking No. 1824367 Richard Fine
2.
Booking No. 2088144 Ronald Gottschalk Obviously, concern was that the Sheriff's
Departr nent
was holding for months Attorney Ricllard Fine
in
violation of the law, and the denial
of
access to arrest and booking papers was meant to cover up that
f1act.
Likewise, his holding
in
a hospital room, with no medical justification was lirely to be a way
of
keeping him off the three times a day routine counts
of
inmate,s -since Richard Fine was
an
off the record , off the count inmate. The holding
of
Attorney Gottschalk, since release,d on bail, likewise, was
in
a medical facility, and again -concern was that
it
was
in
violation
of
the law. A well-recognized civil rights organization, which pdvised me
in
this matter, stated that they routinely made such requests
in
9ther counties
of
California, and that other counties routinely complied with the law. There was no reason why the
L.os
Angeles County Sheriff's Department
w001d
not likewise comply with the law.
~
7radth'oll
0 0eruice
c5i.i.7Ce
165
Digitally signed by Joseph H Zernik DN: cn=Joseph H Zernik, o, ou, email=jz12345@earthlink.net, c=US Location: La Verne, California Date: 2010.01.04 15:37:11 -08'00'
Joseph Zernik December
29 2009
Enclosed
is
a copy
of
the letter composed by Commander Thomas
M
Laing, Executive Assistant, Office
of
the Sheriff which was faxed to you on November 4, 2009, indicating the circumstances involving Mr. Richard Fine's armst. Bookinq information not exempt from the Public Records Act relating to Richard Fine, Booking No. 1824367 and Ronald Gottschalk, Booking No. 2088144
is
enclosed. Your concern as to where Mr. Fine and Mr. Gottschalk are/were held while
in
Department custody
is
in
the form
of
an interrogatory. The Public Records Act does not require that a public entity create a record
in
order to
r~spo
to a request for information. The
Act
only requires that certain records already
in
existence
be
made available; it does not require the public entity to answer interrogatories. If you have any questions, please contact Cynthia Sheckells
of
the Discovery Unit at 323-.890-5023. Sincerely,
LEI~ Y
D
BACA, SHERIFF
~
v
t
dy
A
Gerhardt, Lieutenant Risk Management Bureau Enclosed
/
QInuntl
of
1QO!?i
An~v~k~
~h~riff
s
3Eh~p rlm~nt
3Jt.e .hquctrh~rg
4700
3R&mllnn
3!ihxukua:rb
J9ltllnh~u1
'ark,
QIulif1l1m:ht
91754-·21£9
LEROY
C>
ElACA
H T~IFF
November
4,
2009 Mr. Joseph Zernik Via
Fax:
(801) 998-0917 Dear Mr. Zernik: The purpose
of
this:
correspondence is to respond to the letter you faxed to our office on October
29,2009
requesting specific information regarding Mr. Richard! Fine. Mr. Richard Fine was arrested by the Los Angeles County S.qeriff's Department (LASD) on March
4,2009,
at
11
:05 a.m., in San Pedro Court Mlmicipal
bivision
86. He was booked by LASD personnel
on
the same date, San Pedro Court, at 12:23 p.m. Mr. Fine's confinement to the Sheriff's Custody is the result
of
a court remand order dated March
4,2009,
case number 135109420. I believe this correspondence addresses
your
request for specific information, and
if
can be
of
further assistance, please contact me at (323) 526-5000,
Sin,~erely,
LEROY
D.
BACA,
SH RIF~
n
~~CZA~L
Commander Thomas M. Laing, Executive Ass'istant Office
of
the Sheriff
l
Jradzlion
0/
c ervice
1
5
o r-
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