Feud between neighbors grows more violent Feud between neighbors grows more violent (March 12, 2004)

Mobile home resident faces criminal charges

By Grace Rauh

A nearly three-year-old feud between neighbors Betty Galin and Al Stuetzle that began over the treatment of feral cats will reach new heights when Galin appears in court on charges of battery, vandalism and violating a restraining order.

Galin, 75, has allegedly hit Stuetzle, 84, with a rock and metal flashlight, damaged his car, spray-painted "KILLER" on the side of his mobile home and violated a restraining order three times. The longtime adversaries both live in Sahara Mobile Village on East El Camino Real.

"This is really a duel of the geriatric titans," said Geoffrey Carr, Galin's criminal attorney.

Galin has firmly denied all the allegations and says park owner John Vidovich and manager George Whitteker have "sic'd an old man in the park" on her.

"They want me out of the park because they think I am a troublemaker because I speak up for my rights," she said. Galin sits on the Sahara Village residents' committee board, which recently filed a report with the city chronicling the group's grievances against park management.

Stuetzle says Galin has terrorized and threatened him, his wife and a neighbor who spoke in court on his behalf. He can't explain Galin's behavior except to say she "goes off the deep end." Galin is expected to appear in Palo Alto superior court on April 30 for a pre-trial conference, according to Stuetzle.

The friction between Stuetzle and Galin started in 2001 when Stuetzle began trapping feral cats in the mobile park, he said. The elderly man set up a trap provided by park management, and Galin allegedly tried to intervene and abscond with the cage, according to police reports.

Galin has accused Stuetzle of kicking cats he catches, but he denies the allegations. According to manager George Whitteker, Galin is a cat lover who had more cats than the park permitted. In 1999 park management tried to evict Galin for owning more than two cats, but a judge allowed her to stay.

Galin's niece Sharon Stoner said her aunt had two cats, not "94 million." Park management is "trying to portray her as a lunatic cat woman," Stoner said.

Over the past three years, the grudge transformed into a "he-said, she-said" battle that has hopped in and out of small claims court. Galin, a former attorney, has forked over at least $2,000 to Stuetzle in court-ordered payments, according to her niece.

"This is a scam," Stoner said.

The tension has showed no signs of letting up. In December, Galin allegedly struck Stuetzle on the head with a metal flashlight when he found her under his carport with his cat cage in hand, according to a police report. He had a black eye for five days, he said. And in early January, Galin violated her restraining order by walking within 40 feet of Stuetzle's house, according to a police report.

Stuetzle told police he honked his car horn a few times to encourage her to move, and Galin gave him the middle finger. Stuetzle photographed Galin across the street from his house and submitted it to police. The restraining order prevents Galin from coming within 50 feet of Stuetzle, his house, his car and his wife until August 30, 2005.

"We can't live like this, my wife and I," Stuetzle said. "The only thing I can think of is, one of us has to leave this park." So far neither one has moved or made any immediate plans to do so.

When asked why he didn't demand Galin's eviction from the park, Stuetzle said he feared an outburst from the residents' committee of which she is a board member. "You can't imagine what kind of a campaign they'll mount," he said. He added that he doesn't want to burden Vidovich with evicting Galin because residents have recently flung harsh criticism at him and Whitteker. Some residents have turned to the Mountain View City Council for help in their efforts to improve relations with park management, lower rents and fix basic infrastructure failures in the mobile home villages.

Representing herself in court, Galin filed a lawsuit against Stuetzle, Stuetzle's wife Jean, Whitteker, Vidovich and two other mobile home park managers for abuse of process, or filing frivolous claims against her. Stuetzle is "an expert in small claims court. He spends his life there," Galin said.

Galin's case was denied in county civil court on March 1, according to Stuetzle. The following day Stuetzle learned that he and his wife had won their counter lawsuit against Galin. The court awarded Stuetzle $3,000 to cover medical expenses and aggravation, he said.

Although the criminal charges against Galin relate to alleged actions that occurred on several different dates, they are being considered together when she appears in superior court, said Christopher Kwok, a deputy district attorney for Santa Clara County. If convicted of battery, Galin could face up to six months in county jail or a $2,000 fine.

Galin appeared in court on March 8, but her attorney, Carr, is busy with another case and asked for a delay.

Galin is requesting a jury trial, and she will plead not guilty, she said. However, her lawyer wants to resolve the allegations without a trial, if possible, he said. He has recommended that Galin move out of the park, if only for her sanity.

"This is not my idea of the golden retirement years," Carr said.

E-mail Grace Rauh at grauh@mv-voice.com

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