Residents’ Group Halts Patrol After Shooting at Sex Shop

Neighborhood patrols outside a sex book store in Canoga Park, meant to discourage alleyway sexual encounters by the shop’s patrons, have been suspended because shotgun blasts were fired into the store, wounding a guard.

Los Angeles police said an unidentified gunman fired at least two rounds into the rear entrance of Le Sex Shoppe in the 21600 block of Sherman Way about 1:30 a.m. Saturday. Guard Leon Lopez, 29, of Reseda, suffered moderate flesh wounds from pellets that struck his face and chest, Detective Rick Swanston said Monday.

The shop is the target of a campaign by Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus, who last week proposed that the alley behind the store be closed to traffic at night to curb illegal sexual activity by its customers. Picus’ press deputy, Jackie Brainard, said the councilwoman is expected to introduce the closure motion at Friday’s council meeting.

Brainard and neighborhood leaders have complained that the alley behind the shop is a “focal point� of lewd public conduct and male prostitution.

“I don’t know that this shooting has a direct relationship to ongoing problems, but it certainly shows that we need to do more to control what goes on behind and around the sex shop,� Brainard said.

Neighbors and owners of nearby businesses on Monday expressed sympathy for Lopez, who they said had been on the job only a few weeks. They speculated that the shooting might strengthen their case when the motion to block the alley comes before the City Council, portraying the store as a magnet for violence.

“If you want to get someone’s attention, hit them with a 2-by-4,� said Patric Quinn, president of the Owensmouth Residents Committee. “That’s what happened.�

Quinn and others have banded together in recent months to try to oust the shop, which sells sex magazines, videotapes and novelties. For several months, the alley behind the shop has been patrolled at night by neighborhood volunteers who watch for illegal activity and shine powerful spotlights to deny privacy to those engaged in sexual encounters.

But Quinn said Monday that the patrols will be suspended indefinitely, for fear that the volunteers could be hit by gunfire. “There won’t be any for a while,� he said. “For obvious reasons.�

He denied that the neighborhood groups had anything to do with the shooting.

Quinn said he was unsure when the patrols would resume.

According to police reports, Lopez was in the front of the shop when he heard a gunshot and breaking glass in the back. He ran down the hall leading to the rear entrance and was struck in the face and chest by several pellets from a second blast.

He was treated at Northridge Hospital Medical Center and released, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Lopez did not see the gunman, but a nearby resident, who asked that his name not be used, said he saw a black BMW carrying two men speed through the alley shortly after he heard gunshots.

Swanston said no suspects have been identified and no motive has been determined for the attack.

Le Sex Shoppe, a chain of sexually oriented businesses, is run by Erotic Words and Pictures Inc. The owners and their attorneys did not return phone calls from The Times on Monday.