ESCONDIDO – Two recent court filings – one criminal, the other civil – have placed the future of the Escondido Swap Meet in question.
Three weeks ago, a 27-count criminal complaint was filed by the city accusing the operators of the swap meet of committing a host of misdemeanor crimes.
And one month ago a partnership that owns the 12-acre property filed a lawsuit asking a judge to shut down the business, contending that the operators of the swap meet have violated the terms of a longtime lease agreement. The partnership says it wants to end its lease because it wants to find a better use for the property.
The criminal case, filed by the Escondido City Attorney's Office on Aug. 14, alleges numerous violations of the city's municipal code, including:
Improper wiring (using extension cords rather than permanent wiring).
Erecting signs without proper city permits.
Building structures without permits.
Cleanliness (trash and debris in public places).
Failing to maintain buildings and structures in a safe and sanitary condition (including broken benches and chairs).
Allowing graffiti on buildings.
Failing to maintain electrical equipment in a safe manner.
Maintaining abandoned fixtures on the property.
The complaint is against Joe Crowder and Shop Smart Escondido Inc., doing business as the Escondido Swap Meet. All of the violations are alleged to have been committed May 26, the day code enforcement and fire department officials inspected the site. Crowder's company also operates swap meets in Oceanside and Santee.
Deputy Escondido City Attorney Kristina Gagné said each count carries a possible maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and six months in jail, although she said jail time is rare in such cases.
Crowder has pleaded not guilty. The next court date is Sept. 20 in Vista Superior Court.
The civil suit, filed Aug. 10, seeks an injunction against the operator for “maintaining a legal nuisance” and is seeking the right to terminate the lease, which has been in existence for 37 years, because of the conduct.
A recent story in The San Diego Union-Tribune about the swap meeted quoted a Escondido Police Department spokesman as saying health code violations found during a raid there two years ago were no longer an issue, but the sale of pirated videotapes and DVDs continued to be a problem. The newspaper learned about the recent court filings Tuesday.
Yesterday, Crowder said he thinks the criminal charges, which he called minor, will disappear and that he expects to prevail in the civil suit.
“It's easy to see they are not serious charges and that normally a city wouldn't file charges for such minor violations,” he said. “We have extended our lease and we intend to continue operations as we have always operated in a safe and efficient manner for 37 years.”
The civil suit, filed before to the recent criminal charges by the city, presents as evidence a guilty plea entered by Shop Smart Escondido on Oct. 14, 2005, in which it admitted violations of fire and electrical code regulations between November 2004 and May 2005. Numerous other allegations were dropped as part of a plea agreement. Crowder said he paid a large fine as part of the plea bargain.
The suit alleges that under the terms of the lease the operator of the business cannot be in violation of any laws.
Examples of what the suit says are violations include trash and dirty diapers throughout the property; rotten, inedible and odorous vegetables in open crates; improper electrical wiring; fire hazards; the selling of various food products without adequate sanitation, refrigeration or packaging; and permitting pirated videotapes, DVDs and CDs to be sold.
Attorney Jim Mahacek said the owners of the property, Escondido Drive-Inn L.P., want the lease terminated because the value of the land is being diminished by the activities at the swap meet, and that the land could be put to better use. He said they also fear lawsuits, perhaps by the motion picture industry.
The swap meet, at former drive-in movie theater on Mission Avenue and Quince Street, is very popular, at times attracting as many as 15,000 people on some Friday nights.
J. Harry Jones: (760) 737-7579; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com
