A former neighbor of Mayor Todd Gloria has been sentenced to six months in custody for firing gunshots in the air while protesters were picketing outside Gloria’s home over how police were handling homeless people.
Lonnie James Crawford, 38, who is free on $100,000 bond, was given the date of Nov. 14 to report to the central jail to start his sentence.
He was also placed on two years probation by San Diego Superior Court Judge Polly Shamoon in an alternative custody program which could involve home detention, work furlough, or other options.
Court records say he will be screened for work furlough and if his job qualifies, he could be allowed to work days and be in a work furlough center at night and weekends for six months.
No one was injured in the Aug. 30, 2021, incident when people were picketing outside Gloria’s apartment building in Mission Hills about how police treat homeless people. Crawford drove his truck through the crowd of people and then apparently was angered by the protest.
Crawford angrily told a few protesters he would “shoot them in the f…(obscenity) face” before returning to his apartment, according to papers filed by the District Attorney’s office.
Crawford fired several shots into the air, which caused San Diego Police officers to show up at his apartment. Initially it was reported that Crawford only fired one shot.
Officers were already there as a result of the protest, so they didn’t have to go far to find Crawford’s apartment around 9 p.m.
Crawford’s roommate let officers inside, and police found two unregistered firearms along with “a usable quantity of cocaine,” according to court documents. Crawford was arrested.
He pleaded guilty to a felony of discharging a firearm in a grossly negligent manner. The cocaine charge was dismissed. He had to give up his weapons because a felon could not possess firearms.
He is no longer Gloria’s neighbor and has moved to Point Loma. At the time, Gloria issued a statement saying people were peacefully protesting and he was glad police arrested someone “who […] senselessly fired a gun.” Gloria did not ever say if he knew Crawford.
Crawford was fined $1,190 and given credit for one day previously spent in jail.
People were walking around with signs that read “End police terror on the homeless” and “Stop the sweeps”.
