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Victor Frost, Palo Alto’s well-known panhandler, pleaded “not guilty” on Tuesday morning to a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace and using offensive words “likely to provoke an immediate violent response.”
Frost could face a maximum 90 days in county jail and $1,000 fine if convicted. He was arraigned before Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge William J. Monahan at the North County Courthouse in Palo Alto. He returns to court Jan. 12 for a pretrial hearing.
Frost was arrested Sept. 22 for allegedly shouting racial epithets at a homeless amputee outside Whole Foods Market on Homer Avenue.
A witness said Frost had left his usual panhandling spot and became enraged when he returned two hours later and saw a man in a wheelchair had taken his place.
But outside the courtroom Tuesday, Frost said he thought the man was stealing money out of his collection pot.
In a separate case, Frost is challenging citations for violating Palo Alto’s sit-lie ordinance.
Attorneys are asking a judge to throw out the citations on constitutional grounds.
Frost asserts the city applies two separated standards to the sit-lie law. The city enforces the ordinance against homeless persons while allowing restaurants to illegally maintain outside seating without the necessary permits, he said. That case returns to court Nov. 30.
Hard to believe Mr. Frost garnered even one vote in the election last week.
Victor Frost for Council in 2012!
Victor Frost will give the Council much needed diversity in many different dimensions.
He will be the first member of Council who is homeless, the first who spends more time outdoors in a horizontal than a vertical position, the first who asks for spare change at Whole Foods, and possible the first with “priors” as they say on televised detective dramas.
With these credentials Victor Frost will bring real change to Palo Alto City Council!
First off frost is not homeless. He has an apt in redwood city that the government pays for. He lives on the street by choice. He also has no respect for businesses. He urinates all over the place in both men and womens bathrooms as well as he uses the sinks in those restrooms like a birdbath. The city has got to do something with him besides give him another roof over his head n 3 square meals a day.
It is time to bring back the vagrancy laws.90days at the county work farm, or a 1 year floater would be about right. If Frosty really wants to improve Palo Alto, his departure would help.
Maybe the 270 Frost voters will pick up the $1000 fine?
He could have gotten a few of his panhandler friends to vote for him Im sure. If he goes to jail for 90 days, then is whatever agency still maintaining his residence in Redwood City? Can his car be impounded for leaving it curbed? Because it is often on Park Blvd., and it is a stinky eyesore.
Charging this fellow with “disturbing the peace” is ridiculous. The whole thing is clearly trumped up. Clearly Frost is no angel, but 90 days for simply saying something that is possibly “offensive” to someone is another example of how out-of-kilter our legal system has become.
If people simply stopped giving this fellow money, he would go away.
Victor Frost claimed he lives in Palo Alto (in his car) in his bid for Palo Alto City Council. Therefore, he clearly does not live in his Palo Alto City paid-for apartment in Redwood City. I would hope that the city-paid apartment has requirements that the lessee actually reside in the apartment. So Victor Frost would be in violation of his lease agreement, and should be evicted in favor of someone who will actually reside in the unit.
VICTOR IS NOT THE PROBLEM–IT’S THE PEOPLE WHO GIVE HIM MONEY!!!
PLEASE PEOPLE!! STOP GIVING VICTOR MONEY. HE HAS EVERYTHING HE NEEDS FROM GOVERNMENT HANDOUTS THAT COME OUT OF OUR TAXES!!! IF VICTOR DOESN’T COLLECT ANY MONEY HE WILL GO AWAY ON HIS OWN AND NO LONGER BE A BURDEN TO THE TOWN OR LEGAL SYSTEM.
> he clearly does not live in his Palo Alto City
> paid-for apartment in Redwood City.
The Federal Government pays for Frost’s Redwood City apartment, which Frost has been quoted as saying he “uses for storage”. The funds for these quarters is administered via an organization called InnVision:
http://www.innvision.org/
Let’s just forget him. He is a very sad and very bitter person. “Come smell my armpit” as my daughter and I walked by him without even a look. He wants confrontation.
Victor Frost is dishonest. I noticed it the first time I talked to him. He is a nusance and Whole Foods and any other businesses need to request him to stop panhandling in front of their store. It’s not the people that are fooled by him that are to blame. It’s the store managers. They should make it their reponsibility to guard their clientele. The end.
Can’t we run him out for reprehensible spelling and grammar?
Victor Front not only seeks change, but spare change too.
Interesting that Frost felt he had a claim to “his spot” across from Whole Foods Mkt. And to vilify someone who had taken “his spot” is reprehensible. But then so is he.
Victor obviously has mental issues, which should be taken into account. But, I think he adds a color to Palo Alto that we’ll look back on in 20 years and laugh about.
why is he even in this diverse city if he was shouting racial epithets? please, someone run this welfare-dependent hick out of town. throw him in a car and dump him in menlo park or mountain view. palo alto has no places for assholes like him.
turn off your laptops and go outside and take a breath of fresh air. are all of you so shallow that one insignificent person can bring out statements of hatred and disdain that you somehow feel the need to share your feelings with others or do you all just have the need to post comments randomly. “Diverse” indeed, what a pity!
Please don’t think Frost is going anywhere.
Palo Alto Historical Association photo archives have him at his finest – circa 1992.
Search “Frost” at their site — http://images.pahistory.org
to Susan – I am sure Whole Foods would nothing more tahn to have Frost gone. However, he is on city property not theirs. The city needs to stop putting up with ignorance and move him on. But it all boils down to the citizens who are ignorant to pass by and gve him $5.00! I’d love to make $5.00 every few minutes!
He is a Vietnam veteran, cut him some slack. Our country does a terrible job of providing psychological support to war veterans, let alone people with stress due to their work or relationships. It’s not that the services aren’t available, it’s that only the rich can afford to pay for them. When work picks up the bill, they give you just a few sessions which is never enough to solve any kind of long-term mental issue. And too frequently, we treat depression and anxiety by ever-expanding regimens of pharma, with drug after drug being added to correct the side effects of the last drug. Cognitive behavioral approaches are frequently just as effective, yet underutilized.
“He is a Vietnam veteran”
What branch of the service? Where was he stationed in Vietnam? When? Honorable discharge?
Frost is an embarrassment to himself and the community. He is also very dangerous. I’ve been verbally accosted by him. The saddest part of all is he seems to consider himself some sort of hero of the homeless. He’s an ugly person.
He claims to be a Navy veteran, but does not use VA medical services. Why not? Only need 180 days active time and discharge under honorable conditions to qualify. Anyone can claim to be a vet. Vietnam era vets didn’t all necessarily serve in-country or in theater.
Personally, I believe he doesn’t answer direct questions on the subject for one reason.
Many an untruth is spoken in silence.