A Victorville councilwoman is locked in a legal battle with San Bernardino County after she sued the county for unlawful arrest and deprivation of property, including multiple cell phones from her home, and after they charged her on five different counts, including one count of disturbing her own city council meeting July 20, three counts of resisting, obstructing or delaying peace officers at the same meeting, and one count of battery against someone at an earlier date.
The meeting
During the July 20 Victorville City Council meeting, Robert Daniel Rodriguez, who was also charged with obstructing two officers, disturbing the meeting and trespassing at Panera Bread on a separate date, was recording the meeting.
Rodriguez recorded the attendee to his right, Gene Jones, Mayor Debra Jones’ husband. Mr. Jones attempted to block Rodriguez’s camera with his hand. The exchange caused a distraction to the councilwomen.
The Victorville City Council had been discussing adopting Spanish-language translators when Mayor Jones noted Rodriguez, who was dressed in a head-covering mask with a dark hat and suit, was recording the meeting and extending a cell phone toward her husband’s face.
Ousting
Jones asked City Attorney Andre De Bortnowsky if audience members could record fellow attendees, and De Bortnowsky said it looked like Rodriguez was disturbing the meeting, and that Jones could ask Rodriguez to leave if he was.
“The gentleman in the mask will cease at this moment or I’m going to ask you to leave,” Jones said. Gomez said Rodriguez had been recording, that Gene Jones was also recording, and that she had recorded both of them.
Rodriguez did not stop recording.
Mayor Jones asked sheriff deputies to search Rodriguez’ phone “to see if he had been recording” and then ordered him removed. Gomez joined Rodriguez in recording the three deputies. She left the dais during open session and stood between Rodriguez and the deputies.
The law against obstructing officers, Penal Code Section 148, says recording an officer is not obstruction.
The City Council’s video stopped recording when Mayor Jones called for a break, but two minutes later it showed Gomez standing between Rodriguez and the three sheriff’s deputies, then the five of them walking out together.
A separate video showed Gomez handcuffed and on the lobby ground.
Unlawful arrest suit
Gomez sued the County of San Bernardino, the sheriff’s deputies at the meeting, and a sheriff’s detective in the California Central District Court Aug. 4, alleging wrongful arrest and a later seizure of property. The suit calls the arrest unlawful, and their actions regarding Rodriguez harassment.
The deputies deleted Gomez’s video of the event, from her Instagram and her phone’s memory, the suit claims.
A sheriff’s detective later obtained a search warrant to search the homes of both Gomez and Rodriguez, to obtain cell phones, the suit claims, and sheriff’s deputies seized 12 phones, an Apple Watch, three iPads, five laptops and Rodriguez’s wallet, including his driver’s license, the suit alleges.
Gomez referred comment to her lawyer, who has not yet responded to a message.
Bryan Pease in San Diego, represents her.
Previous incidents
The District Attorney also charged Rodriguez related to an earlier incident. The charge was trespassing at Victorville’s Panera Bread, at 11838 Amargosa Road, the same day the complaint accused Gomez of battery against a woman named Maria Weatherbie. A City Council resolution from July 6 claimed Gomez was protecting a person who was vaping at the Panera Bread from police and Panera Bread employees, on the same date.
Rodriguez was also charged for disturbing the July 6th city council meeting.
Each count of interfering with a peace officer can have a maximum sentence of a $1,000 fine and a year in county jail.
San Bernardino Superior Court Judge David Driscoll is assigned to the case.
The case number is MVI21007253.
Previous lawsuits
Gomez had filed a lawsuit against the Victorville City Council Dec. 21, 2020, in federal court, alleging civil rights violations, Brown Act violations, Bane Act violations, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and false arrest, but progress halted after she made herself the primary lawyer in the case Jan. 25.
