Trials of a Fisherman : Youth Going to Court Over Ticket Received at Beach

When 16-year-old John Scully and his buddy went to McGrath State Beach, they just wanted to catch a few fish.

Instead, John landed a $135 ticket and a date in Juvenile Court--just for trying to be honest, he said.

Now the Camarillo teen-ager is hitting the lawbooks, preparing for an Aug. 10 trial in which he hopes to prove his innocence.

“I figure I’m getting $135 worth of legal education,” John said Thursday.

The ticket stems from a visit that John and his friend, Jeff Grodin of Camarillo, made to the oceanfront park on May 22. They arrived about 5:30 a.m., before the entrance kiosk was staffed, John said, then went to the beach and fished for a few hours.

On their way out, John said, he pulled up to the kiosk and prepared to pay the $5 day rate for park visitors. A park aide told him that the overnight rate was $16, John said. He told her that they had not been there overnight, just for a few hours that morning.

The aide summoned Ranger Scott Cramolini, who insisted that the pair pay the $16 overnight fee, John said. They had only $10 between them.

Although they felt that they didn’t owe the overnight rate, they were willing to pay it, John said. But Cramolini refused to help them comply, John said.

“I offered to leave my friend, or my license, or credit cards, so I could go home and get the money,” John said. “He kept saying, ‘We’re not allowed to do that.’ ”

John said he asked if he could call his father. “He wouldn’t let us do that, either,” he said. “He had an attitude.”

The buddies were detained about half an hour while Cramolini wrote the ticket, John said. Only he was cited because he was driving.

Cramolini did not respond to several calls seeking comment.

Andrew Zilke, supervisor of park rangers in the Ventura area, said: “Because the case is still pending, I’m not at liberty to discuss it. I can only say a citation was issued for non-payment of park use fees . . . I reviewed the citation and the attached report, and it seemed reasonable to me.”

In late June, John and his father, Dennis Scully, went to Ventura County Municipal Court, posted $135 bail and got a July 21 trial date. Then they went to the county law library to learn how to subpoena witnesses and prepare for trial.

When the trial date came, however, only two of the six subpoenaed park employees showed up, and the matter was rescheduled for Aug. 10. A park official told Dennis Scully that he would have to pay $600 in witness fees before the other park employees would appear. The Scullys insist that witnesses in criminal cases do not have to be paid for their time.

John, who will be a junior at Camarillo High School, has had only one prior brush with the law--a speeding ticket that he took care of himself, his father said.

“I’m all for citing people who do things,” Dennis Scully said.

Dennis Scully said that although he must be present at the juvenile proceeding, he is not allowed to aid in his son’s defense. Only an attorney or the defendant himself can do that.

So John Scully--already juggling his own auto detailing business and a part-time job at a computer testing plant--is spending the summer getting a legal education.

“I’ve probably lost over $200 already,” he said.

What’s more, he said, neither he nor his buddy caught any fish.