Town Obtains Restraining Order Against Los Gatos Woman

Town government officials said this week they've obtained two restraining orders against a Los Gatos woman alleged to have threatened a "Columbine-type action" against them due to a zoning dispute that began brewing in March of 2012.

Los Gatos Town Manager Greg Larson said the municipality obtained the first legal injunction against Lynley Kerr Hogan, 45, March 15, 2012.

Los Gatos Patch

At the time, Hogan told this publication she had a right to lease her property as apartments, a bed-and-breakfast, a vacation rental and a boarding house.

Hogan began an online petition to try and change the town's code, which doesn't allow short-term rental properties in the historic Almond Grove neighborhood in downtown Los Gatos.

"... Government should not be able to prohibit you from renting your own home," Hogan wrote in the petition.

The conflict between town officials and Hogan, however, escalated when the municipality cited her in March of 2012 for illegal use of her single-family residence as a bed-and-breakfast based on neighbors’ complaints, Larson explained.

On March 15, 2012, Hogan is said to have threatened a "Columbine-type action" against the town and its government officials obtained the first temporary restraining order against her on March 19, 2012, according to Larson.

Town officials got a second temporary restraining order this past March 22 and another legal injunction against Hogan for two years on April 9, which has now been entered into the statewide database of individuals prohibited from owning or purchasing a firearm.

According to Larson, Hogan also purchased a shotgun at Los Gatos' new gun retail shop Templar Sports in early March, but did not pick it up until March 18, due to the state-mandated waiting period.

However, Los Gatos/Monte Sereno police persuaded her to return the weapon on March 19, after being reminded of the civil court orders obtained by the town, which prohibited her from possessing a weapon, Larson said.

Asked how Hogan purchased a weapon with a restraining order against her, Larson said in 2012, Santa Clara County Superior Court issued an order affirming a civil settlement which, in part, prohibited the resident from owning or possessing any firearm. 

That type of court order, however, is not typically entered into a statewide database, which is maintained to identify people who may not lawfully own a weapon, Larson said. 

Therefore, the state database checked during the waiting period did not identify Hogan as a person prohibited from owning a weapon. 

As if Hogan didn't have enough legal problems with the town, her name appeared in the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno police blotter as being arrested at 10:05 a.m. March 29 for allegedly making criminal threats at the Los Gatos Post Office on Montebello Way.

An email and a phone message to Hogan seeking comment were not immediately returned by the time of this posting.

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