Was Destruction of South Central Farm a Crime?

Those who bulldozed crops at the South Central Farm may be guilty of a crime, according to the California state penal code. Section 604 of the code provides that "every person who maliciously injures or destroys any standing crops, grain, cultivated fruits or vegetables, the property of another, in any case for which a punishment is not otherwise prescribed by this Code, is guilty of a misdemeanor."

The phrase "the property of another" appears to refer not to the land but to the crops themselves at the time they were destroyed. It is undisputed that the crops were legally planted and cultivated at a time when the farmers were lawfully in possession of the land, when the 14-acre parcel in the city's warehouse district was being operated as a community farm by the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. The question for city attorney Rocky Delgadillo and mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is whether those who later bulldozed those crops should be prosecuted under section 604.