Questions, frustrations in El Cajon over county programs housing homeless, former inmates

City leaders in El Cajon have long complained about motels there being used to house people who are otherwise homeless.

Now they are also angry about county programs that use motels to house former jail inmates as they transition to civilian life, and they’re holding a series of public meetings to try to take action.

Two men in those programs, Michael Inman, 70, and Lawrence Cantrell, 34, were arrested last month on charges of sexually assaulting as many as six young girls. El Cajon Police sent out a  news release asking for the public's help to identify the underaged victims.

“These sex predators set up shop and started raping girls, young girls, in the hotel room that the county provided," El Cajon mayor Bill Wells said. "And we found out it was happening. We went and seized their cell phones and found several girls, maybe more than six, that had been raped in these hotel rooms. And they videotaped the entire process. It's disgusting."

Inman and Cantrell were already registered sex offenders with GPS ankle monitors. They were placed in motels in San Diego and El Cajon by county contractor People Assisting the Homeless or PATH. Police say they’d met through the program, and about five days into Cantrell's stay at a Motel 6 in El Cajon, a PATH employee called police to report a crime involving the two men.

Jail records show the men were charged with over a dozen felonies and that some of the victims were younger than three years old.

PATH declined a request for an interview but issued this statement:

"We know that homelessness impacts everyone and we are committed to helping build a safer, stronger community through housing interventions and case management. In certain instances, County funds are provided so participants can stay in hotels or motels while they are working to secure housing. These are temporary solutions that provide interim housing while PATH team members provide case management and housing navigation. When suspicious activities became known, our staff immediately notified the authorities.

“PATH will continue to work closely with law enforcement and other agencies. As an organization dedicated to serving the most vulnerable in our community, we firmly stand against any act of violence or sexual misconduct. We extend our deepest sympathies to all those impacted by this disturbing incident."

San Diego county officials also declined an interview but, in a written statement, said Inman and Cantrell were placed through “Community Care Coordination,” a county program funded in part by the state's Proposition 47 laws. Referrals to it are made by the sheriff's department and the district attorney's office. The program was recently expanded. Their goal is to serve 300 to 400 people through 2026 when the grant ends.

The county said, “C3 is not a voucher program but the contractor can use hotels as transition housing when a voluntary participant is transitioning from the justice system to civilian life,” and added that Cantrell was supposed to be supervised by the county probation department, while Inman was under the supervision of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

An El Cajon City Council report said leaders had already noticed an “uptick in crime” involving several motels as far back as last fall, and “explored options to regulate these motels.”

Wells said the city wanted the motel operators to choose between being motels and being homeless shelters, but “then the state attorney general's office weighed in and threatened us with a cease and desist letter, saying that we were violating fair housing laws."

The city is considering other options, including a 90-day moratorium on using housing assistance vouchers in El Cajon motels.

"We've got to stop it now. This is madness," said Steve Goble, the deputy mayor of El Cajon. He said if they don't take action to protect their city, no one will.

He wants that action to include special licenses for the motel operators.

"If you don’t fulfill the conditions of that license to protect everyone … you can’t do business in El Cajon," he said.

The county pays almost twice the going rate for these rooms and the lack of oversight and motel operators putting profits over safety have broken the system, Goble said.

"Getting people off the street in what is said to be compassion,” he said, “But what we’re doing is enabling them to do the crimes in secret in a motel when taxpayers are paying $147 a night (when) the market rate (is) between $75 and $95 a night. That's a terrible use of taxpayer money and they’re (the clients placed) not even being vetted."

City officials say they’re also going to investigate price gouging.

The county said in a statement it does not pay more than the going rate and that rates vary.

“Hotel room rates are not static and change based on the day of the week, time of year and particular demand,” the statement said.

The county also said the contractor negotiates “a fair rate for the room and pays it along with the rate related hotel room taxes. The maximum rate per night, with taxes and fees, is $145.”

County officials also said the names of the people placed in their homeless voucher program are checked on the Megan's Law website, and they said the separate C3 program is "designed to serve high-need justice-involved individuals."

"These programs provide up to 12 months comprehensive care coordination, service navigation, peer support, and housing-related assistance for justice-involved persons experiencing homelessness who are Veterans or are living with mental illness, chronic health conditions, intellectual or developmental disabilities, substance use disorders, physical limitations or are considered medically complex."

But Wells said that is not what the county told the city.

'"They're basically saying, well, there's nothing we can do and we're not allowed to check into people's backgrounds, so tough," he said.

Wells said the city pressed the county specifically about former inmates.

"We were told six months ago that there weren't any criminals coming through this program," he said. "There certainly weren't any sex offenders. And that's just not the case. So, yeah, we're, we're very unhappy with the whole program."

According to the “Frequently Asked Questions” sheet about the C3 program, which said such programs decrease recidivism by more than 50%.

Wells disputes that data.

"There are 200 people in the program, the majority of them in El Cajon. Now the criminality problem has become huge," he said. "We’ve been arresting lots of over 100 people with different drug abuse problems and warrants for and weapons charges,"

The city also told KPBS in an email that it would not argue the semantics of the differences between the county's homeless voucher program and its C3 programs.

"The city is moving forward with policy to protect our community," the email read in part.

El Cajon police Sgt. Rob Ransweiler said officers have arrested dozens of people from county programs, but he still believes they serve a purpose.

“To just think that that program only serves the criminal element is off base,” he said. “There are people who truly need the programs …The problem is the few ruin it for the many.”

That sentiment was echoed by Keri Irwin, who runs Step by Step Serenity and Beyond, a nonprofit drug rehab program to help people experiencing homelessness.

“We can't look at the whole program like it’s a horrible program and all bad things are happening there because that’s not true,” she said.

She said the program can both help the most vulnerable and be held accountable because even one victim is too many.

“We want to have zero (victims),” she said. “Let's open up our eyes and, you know, be more vigilant.”

Irwin was one of the people who attended El Cajon's first town hall meeting about homelessness on April 4. At that meeting, City Councilmember Michelle Metschel revealed that she had been homeless while growing up and said the city is compassionate and has many programs to help the homeless population. But she said she is unhappy with the lack of information from the county.

"We’re not getting answers from anyone and I don’t even know who to go to. I'm very frustrated," Metschel said.

She wanted to make it clear that you can be for helping homeless people and want accountability when it comes to people, especially children, getting hurt.

"We have mothers with children who are living on the street. We have seniors living on the street who cannot get these vouchers. Women and children should be first priority," Metschel said. "Who makes those decisions? That's what I’m angry about. Why do they get housing when we have 70-year-olds, 80-year-olds dying on the street?"

El Cajon resident Richard Agundez Jr. was also at that meeting. He said wanted to be a part of the solution. He thinks people who work for programs like PATH do care but that there's more to it than that.

"It's clear they care because they're involved with the program, but is it thorough enough? I don't think so, I really don’t think so," Agundez said. "And are there laws, appropriate laws, that are enforceable to keep this from happening again?"

Agundez wanted to know more about how the people in the programs are vetted.

"I think they need a better screening process. It's important. It's a big problem," he said.

The April 4 meeting lasted several hours, and speakers included city council members, the city manager, the city's attorney and law enforcement. They also gave presentations showing data on the homeless crisis. Then El Cajon residents worked in small groups to develop solutions and presented their ideas. The night ended with a question-and-answer session.

"This event tonight, it’s one part of the solution, getting tough and holding contractors and motel owners accountable. That's the other part of the solution," Goble said.

He said the issue is so large and complex that solving it requires everyone to be involved.

"We think people coming together tonight, and we are so pleased with the turnout; they’re giving us the ideas," Goble said. "We shouldn’t pretend ever that we know it all because we think the best ideas come from people in the city,"

The next town hall meeting is scheduled for 1-3 p.m. Saturday, April 15, at Hillside Park, 840 Buena Terrace.

Additional meetings will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m., April 26, at Wells Park on East Madison and from 6:30-8:30 p.m. May 4 at Bostonia Park.