Politics & Government
Bench Warrants Recalled for Canadian Canoers
After reading the Studio City Patch articles, Deputy City Attorney Pso recalled the warrants against the group Twin.
The bench warrants against a Canadian folk band involving their canoe trip down the Los Angeles River—and ending in Studio City—were revoked Friday, according to the city attorney's office.
Deputy City Attorney Kenneth Pso, assigned to prosecute the case of the six band members in Twin, said he read the articles by Studio City Patch and decided to take action on Friday. He said if the Twin group was having a hard time getting back in the United States to defend themselves, he’d “agree to recall the bench warrants.” He added that the band members must bring in their Certificates of Appearance by Aug. 1 and take care of the matter.
The band was cited when they were in February.
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Pso said he looked into the case and found that they had proof in the file of the defendant’s appearance on April 8. He said, “We went ahead and recalled all the warrants but they’re held because nobody’s appeared on them.” What that means, he continued, is that “the defendant’s don’t have a warrant out on them and can come in anytime until August 1 to take care of it.” He did say that the band members still could face fines for loitering and/or trespassing.
According to Sgt. Kent Pollard of the LAPD's North Hollywood Division, there has never been anyone cited for trespassing in the river. There are no trespassing signs along the stretch of river at Studio City, but there are signs restricting dogs to remain on leashes and people have been cited for that.
Find out what's happening in Studio Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
It is still unclear the public could or should access the Los Angeles River and what the Environmental Protection Agency's recent declaration of it being a "navigable river" really means. Jeremy Oberstein of Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian's office said, “Councilmember Ed Reyes has introduced a motion in the City Council for a pilot program to allow kayaking and other non-motorized boating activities on the L.A. River.”
The original citation and the Certificate of Appearance for one of the band members is enclosed in the PDFs under the photo gallery above.
