With the recent disturbances threatening the summer Movies in the Park program in Luckie Park, Z107.7 sent Keith Bailey to report on what was going on during the movie. Here is his story…
Last week, the city of Twentynine Palms staff had to cut a movie short because unsupervised juveniles were fighting and causing problems. I went to check it out and arrived at the park at around 8:15 p.m. I immediately noticed the sheriff deputies that were patrolling the park for any signs of trouble. By 8:30 p.m., it was so dark in the park that it was difficult to make out colors of clothing from only a few feet away. Not long after I arrived, a group of juveniles met up. One of the young men took a backpack from the shoulder of another young male. They began arguing with another group of juveniles that were across the street. The group of juveniles that had possession of the backpack were acting and talking like they had a gun concealed in the backpack. The police were across the street during the time of the brief altercation. It appeared to me that one of the siblings de-escalated the altercation and the group of young men left the park. I honestly believe that if it hadn’t been for the preemptive actions of the City Manager Frank Luckino to increase the presence of deputies, this movie in the park event might have had a different ending.
