FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Man Sentenced to 30 Days in Jail for Having Illegal Drugs

A Fountain Valley man who violated a court order prohibiting him from possessing illegal drugs at his home was sentenced Friday to 30 days in jail.

Fountain Valley police officers in March said they found Garrie Culver in possession of marijuana, a violation of a court injunction won by the city in an unusual action dating to 1992.

Orange County Superior Court Judge C. Robert Jameson in June ruled that Culver had violated his order.

City Atty. Alan R. Burns called the sentence Friday an appropriate penalty.

“Mr. Culver has to understand that the City Council is serious about eliminating drugs in that neighborhood,” he said. “This sentence should help reinforce that message.”

Culver had also been charged with being under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the March incident, Burns said. For that charge, Burns said a Municipal Court judge recently sentenced Culver to serve 90 days in jail.

He said Culver must serve the two sentences consecutively. The defendant will have the option of serving the two sentences through a home electronic monitoring program, or by attending a drug diversion program, Burns said.

The city’s actions against Culver began in 1992 after neighborhood complaints and police reports of drug activity at Culver’s Tulip Court home.

Culver, then 46, was not arrested, but the city took action under the state nuisance abatement law. The law allows cities to seek civil court orders prohibiting drug dealing in neighborhoods, with penalties including fines and jail time.

The city obtained a preliminary injunction in late 1992 that forced Culver to post signs on his house warning that the premises could not be used for the sale or use of illegal drugs.

Culver, who had denied the allegations against him, was later allowed to take the signs down under a 1993 agreement with the city that prohibited him from selling or possessing illegal drugs at his home and ordered him to pay the city a $1,000 fine.

His attorney could not be reached for comment Friday.