More surfers are coming out of the wood work, claiming harassment and intimidation kept them from surfing at Lunada Bay. Photo: Levin
A few days ago, the news broke that the infamous “Bay Boys” of Lunada Bay might finally have to atone for their actions. Originally filed by Cory Spencer, an El Segundo cop, and Diana Milena Reed, a surfer from Malibu, the suit asks that Sang Lee, Brant Blakeman, Angelo Ferrara,Frank Ferrara, Nicholas Ferrara, Charlie Ferrara, Michael Rae Papayans, and Alan Johnston, “aka” Jalian Johnston, each pay $30,000 and be banned from surfing at Lunada Bay. Both plaintiffs claim that the Bay Boys’ presence has prevented them from surfing the wave, using “gang-like intimidation, vandalism and harassment of outsiders.” And it looks like they’re not the only ones: now more people want to get in on the lawsuit.
Also included in the class action suit is the city itself and its police chief. “The police department of PALOS VERDES ESTATES has a long history of deliberate indifference in not investigating or otherwise policing acts of violence and vandalism against visiting beachgoers,” reads the suit. “For many decades, victims of the LUNADA BAY BOYS have complained to Defendant PALOS VERDES ESTATES police and city officials. The response is always the same: City leaders acknowledge the problem, promise to do something, and then do little or nothing.”
According to the Daily News, attorneys working on the case have been inundated with calls. “I’ve been getting at least 10 calls a day, and some are for incidents from 20 years ago,” said Vic Otten, an attorney. “They’re giving me videotapes and specific information about people we didn’t know about before, and the list is growing.”
Along with the fine and ban for the alleged Bay Boys, Palos Verdes estates may be fined up to $15,000 a day by the California Coastal Commission. For years, a stone fort has existed on the beach at Lunada Bay, serving as a sort of clubhouse for the group. It is, of course, unpermitted. If they decide that’s necessary, it could add up to millions of dollars.
As always, though, there are two sides to every story, and Frank Ponce, a surfer that lives in the area, says the suit is going after the wrong guys. “When you look at who they are going after, it’s the property owners who surf down there,” he told Daily News. “The guys who cause the real trouble are not even on that list. They loan me their kayaks. They are really nice people. They are business owners.”
Whatever the case may be, it is clear that the days of the Bay Boys and their rampant, heavy-handed brand of localism are coming to an end, and with the number of other surfers coming out of the woodwork, it looks as though karma might be a bitch.
