Palm Springs stabbing highlights greater problem

A stabbing between two transients in Palm Springs has community members drawing a line.

It happened Wednesday morning around 9:30 in an area known for problems with drugs and homeless.

Now with a newly revitalized apartment complex across the street residents said they are ready to take back their neighborhood.

“You walk by in the middle of the day and I have had people ask me, ‘Do I want crack?’ And that is not the kind of community neighborhood I want to live in,” said Palm Springs resident Truett Griffin.

Griffin was across the street in his apartment when 53-year-old Jose Conde Jr. allegedly stabbed another transient at the corner of Arenas Road and Calle Encilia. He was quickly found and arrested. Palm Springs police report the victim is in stable condition.

“Just a few feet from my apartment is very disturbing and uncomfortable. I just want this to stop,” said Griffin.

Palm Springs police said Conde, now charged with attempted murder, was on the streets because of AB 109.

“It’s kind of a quandary. The police are constantly called out, as soon as they get here they leave, then they come back later,” said Griffin.

Griffin is one of the first people to move into the newly renovated Latitude 33 luxury apartments, formerly known as “crack towers.” Griffin said he moved in for the building’s location, not the history.

“How exciting is it going to be to live next to Arenas and downtown and all of the amazing restaurants and bars,” said Griffin. “I am excited to live here, but here are all these issues that are happening right here on this intersection.”

The stabbing across the street happened just a day after business owners, and residents met with police about ways to address some of these problems.

“I think it will get better, I am very excited about Latitude 33. I think it is the beginning of a change for this area,” said Griffin.

“We address it as much as we can. Unfortunately a lot of times, we leave the area and the problems just return. We are finding ourselves returning to the location quite a bit and we are looking at ways with all of the stakeholders to address the problem,” said Palm Springs police Lt. Mike Kovaleff.

One part of the problem, is an easily accessible electrical outlet on a light pole in the area. Neighbors say they’ve seen transients use it to charge their cellphones and sometimes stay for hours.

Installing a locked cover over the outlet, hiring 24-hour private security, and creating no trespassing zones are just some of the ideas being looked into.

“It’s going to take a community to do it. I’m not leaving, they are,” said Griffin.