I just got word from a senior source at the City Attorney’s Office that charges will be filed against City Council candidate John Hartley within the next 30 minutes.
Hartley was arrested on March 27 after a Kensington resident reported that he had urinated into a cup and masturbated while in his truck, which was parked in the 4600 block of Vista Street. Hartley was booked on two counts, one for indecent exposure and the other for a lewd act.
My source said Hartley will be charged under section 647(a) of the California Penal Code, which reads as follows:
647. Disorderly conduct; Restrictions on probation
Every person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor:
(a) Who solicits anyone to engage in or who engages in lewd or dissolute conduct in any public place or in any place open to the public or exposed to public view.
Hartley is also being charged under section 56.55 of the city’s municipal code, which reads as follows:
56.55 Urinating/Defecating in Public Prohibited
No person shall urinate or defecate in or upon any street, sidewalk, alley, plaza, park, beach, public building or publicly maintained facility, or in any place open to the public or exposed to public view. This section shall not apply to urination or defecation which is done in any restroom or other facility designed for the sanitary disposal of human waste.
Check back later for updates.