WHY IS BRANDO VILLAPUDUA A LEADER ON STOCKTON’S “COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT AMD CRIME-PREVENTION COMMITTEE”?

Embattled Stockton Councilmember Brando Villapudua surprisingly remains vice chair of the City Council’s Community Improvement and Crime Prevention Committee, appointed by Mayor Fugazi. That’s surprising considering the fact he’s currently facing multiple r*pe allegations.

Villapudua also has a documented criminal history, including a felony guilty plea stemming from a home invasion burglary of a disabled elderly woman in Lodi.

Recently, two adult women separately filed police reports alleging s*xual assault by Villapudua, one on September 6 and another on September 12 to the Stockton Police Department who forwarded the complaints to the District Attorney’s Office to avoid any conflict of interests per protocol.

Those new allegations are separate from an earlier allegation by another woman who claims he violated her for several years as a ch*ld. It was confirmed to be investigated by Lodi Police under Case No. 11-003535, which was referred by Lodi PD to prosecutors who did not file charges at the time. However, California has recently changed the law so that if the victim was under 18 and the crime was a felony, charges can typically be brought before the victim turns 40 or under specific DNA-related exceptions.

There are also unresolved new allegations surrounding Villapudua’s residency and his relationship with the “nonprofit” organization Higher Mindset, which shares the same address he used to establish residency to run for office.

None of the unresolved allegations establish guilt, but they do raise concerns of a pattern with Villapudua whose time in office has been marred with several unrelated allegations and controversies including a public censure for flipping off the public during a city council meeting. He was also caught urin*ting in public on his own car behind a bar on the Miracle Mile.

These issues also raise another straightforward question:

Is it appropriate for Villapudua to continue holding a leadership position on Stockton’s Community Improvement and Crime Prevention Committee while these multiple matters remain unresolved?