California has a major problem with homelessness. Tent cities dot the landscape in pretty much every major city in the state. The issue has led to problems with drugs and disease.
Yet it seems poop on the streets isn’t the only issue they’re running into.
San Jose police made a very interesting discovery this week.
One of the latest busts from the San Jose Police Department is proving to be one of the most shocking this year, especially because it happened right next to a school. On July 12th, officers found an underground bunker adjacent to a large homeless encampment in Coyote Creek loaded with a cache of stolen guns, power tools, and other random equipment totaling around $100,000. Six people have been arrested so far.
The bunker itself, hidden within or next to the encampment, involved some sophisticated construction, including support beams and plywood walls, reflecting someone’s skills at engineering and construction.
“Five of the individuals were living in that bunker and utilizing it as a hideout. It’s a hideout that was used to store stolen goods and hide the criminality that otherwise would have been discovered in an apartment or a house,” SJPD spokesperson Officer Stephen Aponte told KPIX.
Reportedly, all the stolen goods have been returned to their rightful owners.
However, this “bunker” looks like a pretty sophisticated structure. Someone knew what they were doing, with support beams and plywood walls.
It seems several people were living in the bunker itself.
Of course, this is part of why California has been criticized so harshly for its failure to address the homelessness issue in the state. It’s not so much that some people are just down on their luck, but that a lot of those who end up on the streets are also criminals.
With the way so many of California’s laws are structured, it remains to be seen if those who were found with the guns and tools were even arrested. One would hope, but this is California where that just doesn’t seem to happen all that much.
Which, if that’s the case, just means we’re going to hear about another “bunker” adjacent to another homeless camp somewhere else in San Jose.
The truth of the matter is that most people in that camp knew what was going on. However, they had no reason to tell the police about it. They’re on the fringes of society as it is. The idea of criminality around them likely doesn’t really even raise an eyebrow.
They’ve got enough problems of their own.
What matters is that it seems the lawful gun owners got their property back. Hopefully, this corresponds to prosecution for the thieves.
However, I can’t help but ponder just how sad it is that we can’t be sure such prosecutions will actually take place. In 49 other states, it’s not even really a matter of debate, but in California, it’s really difficult to be sure.
So, if you value your property, it might be a good idea to look at relocating.