“If you want to be drunk and rowdy, you can’t do it here,” was the message sent to Belmont Shore’s irresponsible nightlife patrons earlier this week when the City Prosecutor’s Office issued the neighborhood’s first Stay Away Order to a 24 year-old repeat offender.
After being arrested for drunken behavior on Second Street for the third time in two years last Friday, Andrew Zea of Long Beach pleaded no contest Monday to public intoxication, was sentenced to 60 days in jail and given three years of summary probation.
Under a new program unveiled by both the Long Beach Police Department and City Prosecutors, however, a new condition was added to this probation—do not return to the Belmont Shore area or risk immediate arrest.
As the first person ordered to stay away under the so-called “Belmont Shore Ban,” Zea is not allowed to walk anywhere along the dining, shopping and entertainment strip—or 50 yards north and south of the street—between noon and 3AM for the next three years. Any constitutional rights this ban might have infringed upon were waived when Zea accepted his parole conditions.
“Every condition of probation must be reasonably calculated to serve a purpose, such as protecting the public,” says City Prosecutor Douglas Haubert, who conceived of the ban with help from the Long Beach Police Department’s Commander Beckman. “A person who is arrested for a relatively minor offense with no prior criminal history would not be appropriate for this condition. We also consider whether the ban would create a hardship for the person…It is impractical to impose it in a way that forces the person to move or lose his job.”
The concept of a Stay Away Order is not new, but its application to an entire stretch of street definitely is. Typically, Stay Aways are applied to specific people (as with a restraining order) or to specific businesses (as in theft cases). But banning someone from an entire neighborhood? That’s something that it appears has only been applied in Long Beach.
Due to the unique nature of Belmont Shore—with homes so close to the action—and a slew of other nightlife options throughout the city, the Stay Away Order can be safely used here. A city could never impose a citywide ban on someone, for example, and it would be questionable if there was only one dining and entertainment district around.
Originally discussed at the Belmont Shore Residents Association meeting earlier this month, the ban was officially announced with Zea’s sentencing, its first implementation. Haubert hopes the ban will help give officers a tool to combat the few people that are causing the majority of the alcohol-related problems plaguing Second Street’s nightlife.
Andrew Zea (left) was banned from Belmont Shore as a condition of his probation. This is the third time Zea has been arrested for drunken behavior on Second Street since 2010. Photo credit: Facebook.
“Yes, there is a problem with some people getting drunk and rowdy in Belmont Shore, but, in my opinion, a lot of calls for service are generated by a relatively small group of irresponsible people,” he says. “I am trying to be creative and give the police a tool to help them focus on the problem.”
Zea has been arrested for drunken behavior in Belmont Shore three times since 2010. The first time, he was arrested and convicted of public intoxication after being kicked out of a bar. The second time, he was arrested and convicted for fighting in public and resisting arrest. The third and most recent case, occurred last Friday, August 18, when Zea was recognized by an officer after being told to leave a bar and was arrested after it was determined he was intoxicated. He is now banned from Second Street between Livingston Drive and Bay Shore.
Haubert also gave much credit to the LBPD, who he says has been stepping up patrol and doing a great job of responding to residents’ calls. This ban is just another tool for the Department to use in their continued efforts to mitigate the area’s problems.
“With dwindling resources, affecting both the City Prosecutor’s Office and LBPD, I am trying to focus on the those contributing the most to the problem,” Haubert says. “The goal is to improve the quality of life for those who live in Belmont Shore and the experience of those who want to enjoy Second Street responsibly.”