Minuteman Leader, Colleague Targeted

Two warrants served in “crackdown”

San Diego police investigating vandalism attacks at several migrant camps served a search warrant yesterday at the Oceanside home of local Minuteman founder Jeff Schwilk.

A second warrant was carried out at the home of Julie Adams, a Rancho Peñasquitos woman who has been a vocal critic of the canyon camps.

Detectives searched for evidence that would link the activists to an incident Jan. 27 in which migrants’ belongings were slashed at three encampments in Rancho Peñasquitos, police said.

San Diego police spokeswoman Mónica Muñoz did not specify what led detectives to the activists’ homes, saying only that the searches were “based on information gathered as part of the investigation.”

Schwilk and Adams were public figures in the campaign to raze a camp in McGonigle Canyon last year, organizing protests and frequently documenting the activities of the men who live there.Most of the canyon residents, who are believed to be illegal immigrants, moved out of that camp late last year only to relocate to other camps nearby, some of which were targeted in the January vandalism attacks.

Schwilk and Adams were part of a group that recently posted several videos on the Web site YouTube, claiming to have documented prostitution and sex trafficking taking place in one camp. San Diego police responded with undercover surveillance but said they did not see any prostitution or sex trafficking. But by then, most of the camp had moved to other canyons.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20070322-9999-1mi22canyon.html

2007-03-27