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August 12, 2022
By Tammye McDuff
Hawaiian Gardens City Council recently received a letter from ABC Unified School District stating that due to incidents at the annual carnival in 2019, the district will not allow Fedde Middle School and Sports Complex to accommodate the city’s annual event.
In 2019, the carnival was moved, at the behest of then-Mayor Myra Maravilla, from Furgueson MS to Fedde MS. The city also added a beer garden.
VIDEO: Gang Fight at Hawaiian Gardens Carnival Last Night, Sheriff’s Placed Carnival on Lockdown
On one night of the carnival, HMG-CN was sent pictures and videos of the Sheriff’s holding shotguns and was told of a possible shooting at the carnival; the callers also said the carnival was on lockdown for over an hour.
A later statement by the city indicated it was a gang fight and no shooting had occurred.
Yet Lakewood Sheriff’s Sergeant Maese stated at the council meeting that a handgun was confiscated from one young male, “whether or not he was going to use that on the premises, we don’t know.”
Maese continued, “there was a small fight with high school students, in my opinion, it was not a gang fight. There were some associates from local gangs, but that broke up rather quickly. Approximately 15 minutes after the juvenile incident, there was a pursuit that was related to a drunk driver, which was unrelated to any carnival incident. It did end up at the carnival, and we had officers rush to protect those residents that were waiting in line. The helicopter was related to this incident, and we did close the gates for 36 minutes.”
At its next meeting, the Hawaiian Gardens City Council got an ear full from angry residents.
Former Mayor Renaldo Rodriguez stated, “If you go back in time when former mayor Myra Maravilla insisted that carnival move from Ferguson to Fedde, many of the residents were against it.”
Ferguson is located in the middle of the community and is easily accessible.
“Maravilla insisted it be moved and add a beer garden. She also threatened to sue the school district over the move. This soured our relationship with the school district.”
Rodriquez continued, “ABCUSD Board Vice President Olga Rios commented at their board meeting about the alleged shooting and how frightening it was. I also heard that numerous residents had attempted to contact city hall regarding the police activity and were told nothing significant had taken place.”
Resident Joe Cabrera got so angry that he was removed from chambers. “This is disinformation, we were just told money was made and this was reason enough to disrupt the lives of our children.”
The letter was placed on the agenda, but it was pulled with Mayor Luis Roa saying, “Unfortunately, we have not had the opportunity to discuss the situation with the ABC, we are making it a priority to meet with the school district at this time.”
