A Simi Valley resident is facing battery charges after pushing a food cart into a vendor which led to minor injuries.
The incident, which occurred on April 14th at the intersection of Torrance Street and Brandon Avenue, escalated when Julie Sanchez, 56, pushed the food vendor to the ground.
At around 4:30 p.m., Simi Valley Police received a call regarding the battery incident involving Sanchez and the food vendor. A video of the confrontation shows Sanchez, who is reportedly a nurse with Dignity Health, obstructing the vendor’s cart and accusing her of operating without a permit.
Sanchez is heard in the recording insisting that she had warned the vendor not to come down the street, stating, “I’ve told you, and told you. I don’t want you down this street,” followed by more explicit language.
The vendor, who is reported to be pregnant according to her attorneys, was blocked from progressing and selling her items. The situation intensified when Sanchez, who also berated the vendor for not speaking English and accused her presence of devaluing her property, pushed the cart into the vendor, resulting in the fall.
Witnesses at the scene intervened attempting to deescalate the tension after the vendor fell to the ground.
Sanchez was subsequently arrested under California Penal Code 242 PC for battery and is expected to appear before the Ventura County Superior Court on May 14th. The Simi Valley Police Department has referred the case to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office for a review.
Attorneys representing the vendor claim she was subjected to a racially motivated attack and are pressing for the Los Angeles District Attorney to levy additional hate crime charges against Sanchez.
Local advocacy group 805 Immigrant Coalition condemned the incident as a “hate-driven attack” that is part of a disturbing pattern of violence targeting street vendors and immigrant communities across California.
“We stand firmly with the impacted vendor and applaud the Law Offices of Christian Contreras PLC for representing her and advocating for justice. Hate has no home here. If you witness or experience a hate crime, contact the 805 Immigrant Rapid Response Network at (805) 870-8855,” the group stated.
Video of the incident is available below.
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Racists in SImi Valley? You don’t say…..
Yeah, lock this racist Karen up. Assaulting a pregnant woman is vile, much less pushing her into an intersection like that.
At least this trashy filth was outed publicly. Have fun being unemployed, Julie.
Sac – I don’t see where the victim was pushed into the intersection but read this incident occurred at a specific intersection. Am I wrong?
Yes, watch the video.
My given name is Karen. I didn’t choose it, much like people don’t choose which station in life they are born in or the color of their skin. I try to offer a different perspective of what my name means by being kind, thoughtful, and service oriented. I and other Karens would appreciate you consider the use of our name when making comments. It should neither be a punchline, nor an epithet. Our name was chosen lovingly by our parents. Perhaps if our parents could see into the future how our name would be generalized into something demeaning, they might have chosen differently. In the meantime, in a world where you can choose to be anything, might you consider to choose to be kind to those of us who were innocently named Karen and do not fit the unfortunate stereotype? Thank you in advance for considering another perspective with an open heart. Please, let’s choose to be kind–including to a population of Karens who have nothing to do with what Ms. Sanchez is accused of doing. I would appreciate any help in getting this derisive connotation of “Karen” out of pop culture, and it starts with people having the realization that there are lots of Karens who are not like the woman above, and then making the commitment to not use “Karen” as shorthand for something so negative. For everyone that doesn’t do this or will no longer do this…thank you.
Oh look, a Karen being a “Karen.”
Sorry, Karen, that this is all you got out of this.
Sorry, that you can only respond with an additional insult. I hope that someone is kind to you today so that you feel like you can pay it forward and not marginalize a group of people who happen to have a name that is so easy to throw out.
No insults at all. Just sorry that you made this all about you. And yeah, I know. Try growing up named after a toilet and a prostitute’s client.
Again, too bad you got nothing more out of this.
One of my BFFs is also a Karen and probably the most loving person I have ever met. I refuse to use this pop word.
Of course, she, the American tax paying citizen and nurse will be the one to suffer even though the other is MOST likely an un-permitted illegal. People are clearly fed up.
SusieQ believes you’re allowed to assault a suspected illegal immigrant if you’re a legal citizen. Right on par with MAGA kidnapping people and sending them off to foreign gulags.
How do you know she pays her taxes? Might it have something to do with the color of her skin?
And I’ll tell what I’m fed up with, as an actual tax paying citizen: I’m fed up with the blatant racism I see spewing from my fellow undermelanated. People like you, who talk and post racist garbage every freekin day online are trying to make all public discourse as rancid as the sewers of your own mind. I’m really fed up with that.
But I’m not at all perturbed by the presence of immigrants in my country, and to be perfectly honest I don’t give a hoot about their legal status. That’s between them and the government, as far as I’m concerned. I’m proud to live in a country that for most of its history -before we elected Donald Trump, twice- was seen as a beacon of hope for a better life for all the oppressed people in this world. I am stunned by the courage and resourcefulness it would take to pick up whatever possessions you can carry and WALK hundreds of miles to a place with a different language and customs, just on the hope for a better future. These are some of the strongest people on Earth, and I am glad they are here in our communities.
Racism is a white people problem in this country and we have to stop making it worse. Think about what you say before you say it, and by dog think about what you do before you do it. If you’re as racist as the anonymous poster I am replying to with this post, then keep it to yourself and go sit in the corner until you can behave like an adult.
KIRK – spot on. I agree, people who risk their lives and put themselves through what’s likely a hellish situation, wrought with danger, to give a better life to their families, are pretty remarkable. I have absolutely NO problem with them being here working hard, except for those very few that are here for criminal purposes.
Racists who condone violence against people for how they were born (as opposed to choices they made) belong in camps, not hard working immigrants whose only “crimie” is coming here without documentation.
BB/SUZY – “Of course, she, the American tax paying citizen and nurse will be the one to suffer even though the other is MOST likely an un-permitted illegal. People are clearly fed up.”
That American tax paying racist just pushed a pregnant woman into an intersection and hit her with her cart. Only racists like you are “fed up.” My God. You’re really a bad person if you truly believe assaulting pregnant women is OK simply because you don’t like certain races.
SUZY – That you suggest the victim is an “illegal” who doesn’t pay taxes also outs you as a really poorly educated or at least gullible person, given the fact that undocumented immigrants pay TENS OF BILLIONS of dollars in taxes each year. Dumb and racist – 2 traits that almost always go together. I sure hope you don’t think you’re a Christian.
And why is this neighborhood dispute in Simi 90 miles away from Santa Barbara featured on our local news site? Someone is picking a fight and provoking hostility. Stirring the pot so to say. This is what used to be called “yellow journalism.” Not attractive.
RHS – sigh….. is it less “attractive” than a racist assault on a pregnant woman? Is it? Think about it.
And yeah, it’s 90 miles away, but this kind of thing should not be tolerated, anytime, anywhere.
The only one “stirring the pot,” is the guy/gal liking his/her own comments as soon as they post them and complaining that we shouldn’t be reading about racist violence. We have vendors in our community. We have Spanish speakers in our community. And sadly, as we can see from you and Karen, we have people who don’t mind racist violence in our community as well.
This is ALL of our problem, not just Simi Valley.
Sorry it interfered with your day.
Wrong. You don’t know me. Me being your echo chamber does not equal me being a racist. I just chose to shine a light that two wrongs don’t make a right. You can point out something that is wrong in a way that is respectful to others. People don’t deserve to have their common name disparaged, which is not just about me. (I’m sorry that this has happened to you–I strive to use the proper vocabulary, personally.) People who know me know that I’m not a racist. It is respectful to assume positive intentions. Because I assumed positive intentions with you, I thought you might reconsider your word choice and offer a true apology. If you can’t do that, I can move on. Unfortunately, this will cause you to lose credibility. I don’t mean this in a hurtful way, it’s just that your message gets tarnished when the word choice is not thoughtful. Peace.
SImmer down, Karen. I didn’t call you a racist. Sorry, for calling this racist trash a “Karen.” You seem pretty worked up about it, so I apologize for causing you so much distress and outrage by using a term that is widely used on a daily basis.
Perhaps you and all the other Karens should strike up some kind of movement to combat the use of a name to describe whiney, usually racist (or at least tolerable of racism), entitled women (and men) who feel the need to complain incessantly about minor things?
Just because a term is/was widely used on a daily basis doesn’t make it right (easiest ones to remember are the ones that some people used to call people of color or another ethnicity…or how about what a bully/abuser might call their victim, on the daily). People who use/d those terms could not possibly be proud of reducing another human to a name that is meant to denigrate. If you feel like someone is entitled, whiney, usually racist/tolerable of racism and feel the need to complain incessantly about minor things, then you should express it as plainly as that, rather than attribute it to one name. I mean why should Karen have to take the hit for a “Julie”? I’m not trying to start a movement, but if I started a conversation, and maybe made sense to one person, or perhaps empowered another person who happens to be named Karen to speak up to defend her and our given name, then that is enough for now. Awareness is the beginning. I accept your apology. Take care.
Karen being Karen.
Ventura County is part of the Tri-Counties in this area, hardly yellow journalism. But continue with your critique of pretty much everything Edhat posts RHS.
Kind of disheartening to see absolutely no outrage about this racist attack on this site. Plenty of complaining about other things, but an assault on a pregnant woman that could have led to serious injury or worse had cars been going through the intersection sits quietly unopposed.
Apathy about things like this has led us to where we are. Sad.
I disapprove of harassing street vendors, and this woman’s racism is bad, but I don’t see what good it does for me to write in to Edhat saying so. People who disagree with me aren’t worth arguing with.
Also, I am on the side of not using “Karen” as a pejorative.
I was expecting to see something overtly violent in the video rather than a quick bump. Ms. Sanchez pushed the cart toward the vendor, who in turn flopped on the ground (like Lebron James). I would call it an indirect/unintentional “assault,” but the law sees it differently. In any case, what Ms. Sanchez did was completely wrong and was rightfully charged with assault. I believe this event has become a local story due to the conflicts that have arisen due to the large influx of street vendors in Santa Barbara. To a lesser extent, this is happening as well in Goleta, and possibly Carpinteria. I do wonder though how some of the stationary street vendors get away with setting up directly ON/across sidewalks. Anyone in a wheelchair or even a walker has to go completely around these food/trinket stations.
“Flopped”.
Oh, so you’re saying the woman faked or embellished falling down. Give me a break. Always blaming the victim.
Alexblue: I should have used the term flomped, rather than flopped. I suggest that no one should be blaming the cart vendor because it appears that she wasn’t doing anything to the aggressor. The aggressor was obviously having a very bad day, coupled with what appears to be a mental breakdown, and completely lost her “cool.” A word of caution is that it’s never a good idea and quite dangerous to set up a rolling business directly on a city street. Everyone should be able to agree that we need to let the courts handle this from now on rather than in the “court of public opinion.”
Sorry, you need to explain this. More words please.
BEES – so now she “flomped?” Which is it and what’s the difference? You’re still defending this racist by dismissing her verbal and physical assault on having a “bad day.”
You racists are a bunch of chickens. You say outright racist stuff and then try to say you’re not. Own it. Man up and stop being cowards.
Both these women are violating the law.
Ergo.. both should be assaulted?
BASIC – “Both these women are violating the law.”
Which law did the pregnant victim violate?
sac – How do you know the victim was pregnant?
I’ll re-post without the name, so as not to ruffle up any more racist feathers here:
BASIC –
1) How do you know she didn’t have a permit? How do you know she was selling anything and not just pushing her cart home on public property? Because a racist told you so?
2) Even if so, a civil infraction doesn’t justify a crime. Would you say the same if a person jaywalking was injured in a hit and run? Never mind, of course you would.
This sounds like a simple case of Battery to me. The victim’s attorney reports she is pregnant but was this claim listed by police. Was this pregnancy obvious to everyone? Pregnant or not, a battery remains a battery as reported in this incident if she was struck by the cart and pushed to the ground. Also, if the victim was pregnant I’m confident the involved coalition would have hyped up their claim and listed this in their comments. Based on Sanchez’ comment, I don’t view this as a “racist” or “hate driven attack.” Appears the suspect believes the vendor in her area was decreasing the value of her property (which is likely true) and lost it. I don’t believe it is a crime for berating someone because they do not speak English. Is it? Why not identify the race of the victim?
Racists would not see this attack as racist.
I just wanted to highlight the stupidest line of the above post: “Was this pregnancy obvious to everyone?”
So tell us, how many times have you been slapped asking if a woman is pregnant or not?
ANON – Doulee’s comments are always rife with stupidity, but this one is a humdinger.
Leave it to EDHAT to search out an isolated incident from a neighborhood 70 miles South of us to get “the usual” all fired up with everyone in Simi Valley is a racist rhetoric… Why spread this divisiveness? Is this “news”. I am sure 99% of the people who view this don’t condone what and how Ms. Sanchez conducted herself in her neighborhood. Yeah, Ms. Sanchez was absolutely wrong, but EDHAT choosing to publish this BS is just as bad.
How dare Edhat report the news! Especially if it happened on the Central Coast. How absurd of them. Next thing you know they’ll be reporting about the weather too, just insane!
Assault is divisive?
News should only align with Coast’s world view. Be more like Fox News, Edhat!
Hey, it got a lot of hits!!
So be quiet and stop your constant complaining.