Santa Cruz Police
from page six

May 2003

who took offense that a satisfied patron gave Paschal a dollar after a reading. She charged Paschal with "panhandling within three feet of a person" where a peaceful request becomes a crime, even if it's a voluntary exchange between two people who know each other.
Paschal chalks up his latest warrant; incarceration to Sgt. Baker's determination to clear him off the mall. He said he heard Baker comment back in August that he'd be willing to drive Paschal back to New Hampshire himself. In March, Paschal claims he overheard Baker get on the phone to try to get New Hampshire to take him back — again. Apparently this time Baker was successful.
On April 25, the day after Supervisor Wormhoudt denounced the DBA for its anti-marijuana vendetta, Paschal was sent back to a New Hampshire jail for half an ounce of grass. The DA's office claimed it "didn't know" whether Santa Cruz County or New Hampshire paid for the expense of the extradition.
Concern about Paschal's "mental health," so solicitously highlighted in Redfern's story, was no longer an issue. Baker's campaign to rid downtown Santa Cruz of a shit-talking, uppity, homeless black man was finally a success.