El Cajon Police make multiple drug arrests allegedly in connection to County homeless voucher program
By Natalie Chuck
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EL CAJON, California (KGTV) — The Mayor of El Cajon is again voicing his concerns with San Diego County’s homeless voucher program, tweeting on Thursday “More crime taking place due to the County Homeless Voucher Program…” referring to an arrest made by El Cajon Police on Wednesday.
According to police, a traffic stop on Wednesday around 11:00 a.m. revealed the 63-year-old male driver was on probation in possession of an illegal weapon, methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia.
The man revealed he was staying at in a motel room at the Best Value Inn located at 1274 Oakdale Avenue, where police then executed a search.
At the inn, police say they found four other men and arrested them on multiple charges, including possession of narcotics.
According to police, one of the men claimed he was staying there under the County’s homeless voucher program, administered by their vendor Equus.
The arrests come less than two weeks after a man at a Motel 6 in El Cajon was arrested on drug charges after police learned he and a friend allegedly had sex with a minorin a taxpayer-funded room covered by the voucher program.
Both men were registered sex offenders, but only one was a recipient of a county voucher.
The County says it cannot confirm the identities of any recipient of the homeless voucher program due to privacy laws.
The City Manager of El Cajon, Graham Mitchell, told 10News the city does not have a way to verify whether people who say they are part of the County’s homeless voucher program actually are.
On Tuesday, El Cajon City Council held a special meeting dedicated to discussing what they are calling a “uptick” in crime in the motels since county vouchers went into effect.
“These are some things that it seems like it’s growing and growing and growing, and as a city manager, I completely feel left in the dark when it comes to what’s happening in the community,” said Mitchell.
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