CA- Convicted sex offenders face eviction from Hacienda Heights home

With a landlord like this, they should all find other housing..

12-13-2008 California:

HACIENDA HEIGHTS - A half-dozen convicted sex offenders face possible eviction from a group home due to a bounced government check, officials and an attorney said.

Attorney Mike Balmer, who represents one of the registrants living in the home, said a government-issued check bounced and the owner ordered the sex registrants living in the home in the 14000 block of Ansford Street to leave Friday evening.

Two left immediately, but no one came by late Friday to order the remaining sex offenders from the home, as they expected, Balmer said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore confirmed the situation.

"Government checks are being returned for insufficient funds," he said. "The person who owns the home apparently is evicting some of them, or threatening to do so."

"(Sheriff Lee Baca) is outraged that anybody would consider evicting someone that has a government check, knowing full well that eventually it would be rectified," Whitmore said.

Whitmore added that Baca is also outraged at the current state budget crisis, and, "that Sacramento would allow this to occur."

California State Controller's Office spokesman Garin Casaleggio said, "Since we have money in the bank still in the state of California, no check issued by the Controller's Office is bouncing. So what you're looking for is possibly a check written by the Department of Corrections itself."

It was not clear Friday which government agency issued the bounced checks.
"We will monitor (the situation) the best we possibly can," Whitmore said. "Rest assured that the Sheriff's Department will be about its business."

Sheriff's officials added, however, that the registrants cannot be arrested unless they commit a crime.

"We have made attempts to contact the owner of this home, and as of yet, there has been no return call," Whitmore said.

California State Department of Corrections spokesman Gordon Hinkle said late Friday that he was not aware of the details of the situation or whether Department of Corrections checks are involved.

In general, he said, though state officials often help to place convicted sex offenders, they are not required to.

"The state and corrections does not have a responsibility to provide housing for any parolee," Hinkle said. ..News Source.. by Staff Writers Alfred Lee and Frank Girardot contributed to this story.