‘People are dying.’ Charges possible in Kings County for ignoring shelter-in-place orders
Central San Joaquin Valley residents who ignore California’s shelter-in-place order may soon find themselves with misdemeanor charges.
That enforcement option could be considered during a Kings County Board of Supervisors meeting next week, warned Kings County Supervisor Richard Valle in a stern video Tuesday.
There’s now more than 130 COVID-19 cases in the Valley, with numbers continuing to rise daily. Kings County had three cases as of Tuesday afternoon.
“And, by the way, people are dying,” Valle said of coronavirus cases.
One person died last week from coronavirus in Madera County, followed by another in Tulare County.
Valle said the possible misdemeanor charges are targeted at those who continue to have large gatherings in Kings County, including birthday parties with children playing together in bounce houses.
“It doesn’t mean you’re going to get pulled over because you’re out walking the dog,” Valle said. “Exercise is still encouraged.”
In a 5-0 vote, Kings County on Tuesday also adopted a shelter-in-place order of its own, to show residents “just how seriously” local leaders are taking Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order to stay at home for non-essential services. Valle said Kings County’s order doesn’t add anything beyond what the statewide order already contains, and that the county order will only be lifted whenever it’s deemed safe by local officials.
“As he believed,” Valle said of Newsom’s statewide stay-at-home order, “all Californians would do the right thing and follow the guidelines. So we fast-forward to today folks, and that is not happening, and it’s not happening in Kings County.”
Valle said he made the motion to follow-up with enforcement of the shelter-in-place rules in Kings County.
“As soon as next week, the sheriff, the Kings County DA, our county counsel, our staff, is preparing language for the Board of Supervisors to consider. … Also in my motion was to work with those same entities to prepare language to make it a misdemeanor in Kings County for those who are not following the shelter-in-place orders,” Valle said.
He continued by saying law enforcement still needs time to “figure out what kind of enforcement they want to do.”
Valle said it’s critical that residents follow shelter-in-place guidelines to protect their safety and the safety of others.
“You’re asking for maps of where the three positive cases (in Kings County) are,” Valle said in his video. “Folks, it’s here. If you’re looking for some kind of level of safety or someone to tell you, ‘Don’t worry, it’s not in your area,’ that’s not going to happen. It is here.”
He said health officials estimate Kings County could perhaps see its greatest rise in cases in 30 to 45 days, and that the contagious virus “still hasn’t hit us at the level that it can hit us.”
Valle said because California was earlier than some areas to institute shelter-in-place rules, that if residents obey them, “then maybe we won’t get hit hard.”
That includes not traveling to harder-hit areas, like California’s Coast, he said.
“This is a crucial time right now.”
Fresno, Madera, Tulare counties’ plans
In response to a question from The Bee, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said it is not considering charges for stay-at-home order violations. The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said it is not taking any enforcement actions.
The Madera County Sheriff’s Office hasn’t provided a response. During a May 19 news conference directing Madera County gatherings to cease and some businesses to close, Sheriff Jay Varney said of enforcement: While voluntary compliance is certainly preferable, “If we have to intervene, we will.”
The Kings County Sheriff’s Office did not provide a statement this week.
District attorney offices in the Valley also provided information.
“We have yet to receive any law enforcement referrals related to individuals that may be violating the various ‘shelter in place’ orders,” said Jerry Stanley, assistant district attorney for the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.
In Madera County, District Attorney Sally Moreno said, “We have no referrals from any law enforcement agency.”
In Tulare County, DA spokesman Stuart Anderson said, “We are not taking enforcement actions, but will review any case law enforcement submits. Our continued focus at this time is investigating consumer issues surrounding alleged price gouging.”
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 4:57 PM.
