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Mother of Garrett Crane <br />Grandmother of Hazel <br /> <br />On Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 11:16 AM, Kimberly Miller <k3miller23@gmail.com> wrote: <br />Dear Mayor Amezcua, and Members of the Santa Ana City Council, <br />I am submitting the public comment below for inclusion in the October 21, 2025 City Council <br />meeting record. I have also copied the City Clerk, City Attorney’s Office, and Santa Ana Police <br />Department for awareness and follow-up. <br />Thank you for your continued leadership and compassion on this issue. <br />— Kim <br /> <br />Public Comment: <br />On July 3, 2025, my nephew Garrett Crane suffered a fatal fentanyl overdose at the Sunland <br />Motel. He was 39 years old — a stay-at-home father who adored his two-year-old daughter, <br />Hazel. After he overdosed, individuals at the motel administered Narcan, stole his wallet, left <br />him in an alley, and called 911 anonymously. <br />He was transported to the hospital as a John Doe, where medical staff heroically kept him on life <br />support long enough to honor his wishes as an organ donor. Because of their compassion and <br />expertise, Garrett has helped save or heal more than 50 people through organ and tissue <br />donation. His life ended tragically, but his legacy lives on. <br />The Sunland Motel has been under a Drug Den Nuisance Abatement order since 2020, yet it <br />continues to operate openly. This property has documented incidents of drug trafficking, <br />violence, and prostitution, and it has repeatedly failed to meet its obligations under that order <br />— including maintaining surveillance video, verifying guest records, and cooperating with law <br />enforcement. It appears that evidence, including required video footage, has been withheld or <br />destroyed. <br />My concern extends beyond one case. How does a robbery and death occur at a property <br />under court-ordered abatement, and there is still no full investigation or accountability? <br />SAPD officers are doing extraordinary work, but they are under-resourced and over-extended, <br />forced to respond to repeated crises without the funding or personnel to properly investigate <br />complex crimes like this one. <br />I urge the Council to: <br />• Fully enforce and close out the Sunland Motel abatement case with transparency and <br />urgency. Ensure a local lawyer does not use legal loopholes to get the owners "off" again. <br />• Audit compliance with all court-ordered requirements, including video retention and <br />cooperation with police. <br />• Increase funding for SAPD’s Nuisance Abatement and Investigations Units so they can <br />pursue these cases effectively. <br />3 <br /> <br />