http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... 2275.storyFor teen program's chief, tough love may have turned criminal
The operator of a Pasadena 'boot camp' aimed at turning around troubled lives with military-type discipline faces trial on charges of kidnapping and extortion for his treatment of a girl and her family.
By Ricardo Lopez, Los Angeles Times
November 13, 2011
The surprise visit to Alberto Ruiz's house was swift.
Dress quickly, he was told. You're going to boot camp.
His parents, worried about his drug use and habit of skipping school, had followed a friend's advice and called Kelvin McFarland.
Ruiz's behavior had earned him a spot in McFarland's Family First Growth Camp in Pasadena, a place with a reputation for breaking gang-bangers and drug addicts and turning them into law-abiding teens.
A former Marine who likes to be called "Sgt. Mac," McFarland founded the camp two years ago and boasted that his tough-love tactics and military-strict discipline were the perfect formula for reforming gang members, taming runaways and getting through to troublemakers.
Ruiz, who is now 18, credits McFarland's intervention for helping him finish school and quit drugs.
But authorities say McFarland's scared-straight approach crossed the line and veered into criminal behavior earlier this year when he crossed paths with another Pasadena teen.
Investigators allege that in May, McFarland was driving in Pasadena when he spotted a girl walking along the street during school hours. He stopped to question her, then handcuffed her, placed her in his car and told her to direct him to a relative's home. At the relative's home, he demanded money from her father to enroll the 14-year-old in his program. The girl's father mistook McFarland for a truancy officer when he flashed a badge, Pasadena police said.
McFarland is facing trial on felony charges of kidnapping, extortion, false imprisonment and child abuse, and unlawful use of a badge, a misdemeanor.
Now Pasadena police are investigating possible abuses that allegedly occurred at a rival Pasadena boot camp where McFarland once worked. The Pasadena Star-News recently published videos allegedly filmed in 2009 in which McFarland can be seen yelling at teens, forcing them to gulp down water even as they retch and vomit. In one scene, McFarland and other drill instructors appear to scream at a youngster, inches from his face, as he collapses in tears under the weight of a car tire on his shoulders.
The publicity has had a chilling effect on McFarland's Family First boot camp. Parents have pulled their kids out in droves. Where several dozen cadets once attended, only a handful remain.
"I'm not going to lie… we don't have 75 cadets, but we're still continuing," said Elpidio Estolas, one of Family First's directors.
McFarland is quick to defend his work in the community, as is Keith Gibbs, the director of the rival boot camp. Both say they offer a last resort for exasperated parents who have nowhere else to turn.
In interviews with McFarland, his cadets, their families and those who have worked with him, a complex portrait emerges. Critics describe him as a fast talker, easily seducing working-class Latino families with his authority-laden persona. Supporters say McFarland is a man filled with good intentions, who has overcome his flaws such as convictions for DUI and a misdemeanor assault.
McFarland says his criminal history allows him to dissuade cadets from a life of incarceration. He talks openly about the months he was homeless and his continuing struggle with alcoholism. These attributes, he says, make him a relatable figure.
McFarland is set to stand trial Wednesday, though the case has been delayed several times — once after his boot camp could no longer afford to pay his attorney, a former Pasadena mayor. He is now represented by a public defender.
But McFarland continues to operate his program throughout Pasadena, in local parks and occasionally a small strip-mall church.
In fact, it didn't take long for the boot camp to resume after McFarland got out of jail
In mid-June, from the stage of Faithworks Ministries church, McFarland — freshly released on bail — thanked his cadets and their families, quoting the Bible as he spoke. For days, they had rallied on his behalf outside a Pasadena courthouse, hoping a judge would reduce his bail.
McFarland, a deeply religious man raised by an aunt in rural Georgia, looked on quietly. Dressed in his signature military fatigues, he occasionally barked commands as the cadets stood in formation.
"I don't know of a boot camp that praises the Lord as much as we do," said McFarland, who granted The Times access to his boot camp last summer but has since refused to speak with the paper.
After the morning drills, the group moved inside the church. The teens marched single file into a side room for a self-esteem workshop. Their families, meanwhile, sat in the pews, listening to a nutritionist. Involving parents in the program is a key component of success, McFarland says.
"The program has benefited the children tremendously," said Mirza Balvaneda, who enrolled her son when he was only 8. "The other parents said I was brave to bring him in because he's so young, but he needed to learn some discipline."In addition to the instilling of discipline, parents — most of whom don't speak English — said they hope their children will take more initiative in their studies.
When news of McFarland's arrest broke, some thought Gibbs, who operates Sarge's Community Base, was the one who had been arrested.
The men have similar authoritative demeanors and dress — usually camouflage pants with dark polo shirts. They even have similar nicknames. McFarland is "Sgt. Mac," Gibbs is simply "Sarge."
"People were calling me because they thought I was the one who had been arrested," Gibbs said.
Gibbs said that he hired McFarland in early 2009 and that his new employee became his right-hand man. But now the two compete for recruits and offer differing views of how their relationship fell apart.
Gibbs said he fired McFarland when he discovered his criminal history and heard complaints from staff that he was using excessive force when disciplining cadets. McFarland said he only followed Gibbs' orders.
Gibbs has also faced allegations of child abuse. In a 2010 letter from Edwin Diaz, superintendent of the Pasadena Unified School District, Gibbs was told his permit to use school district facilities for his camp had been revoked.
School officials had received reports from parents that Gibbs' boot camp tactics amounted to corporal punishment. Another parent charged that he had engaged in "an inappropriate sexual relationship" with a minor. Pasadena police investigated but never filed charges because the teen recanted her claims, Diaz wrote.
Gibbs calls the allegations lies spread by disgruntled cadets who wanted out of his program.
As his court date approaches, McFarland has kept a low profile, quietly running his boot camp and dismissing his critics, who he said are trying to destroy his business with baseless accusations.
He says that at the end of the day,
"it's all about the kids."http://bit.ly/nQYYhA). To turn a child around you have to turn around their belief system. For the record I can refute every statement made in the evil argument and so should you.
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mikeasr at 3:15 PM November 13, 2011
It's old news that neither the boot camp programs nor the "scared straight" programs work. They sound great, they get sold to a credulous audience, they provide drama--but they don't work.
Worse yet, those who operate them often are untrained persons who are chosen for their size, not their ability to work with people. This commonly leads to abuses and those abuses over the past 20 years have, in some programs, included the negligent deaths of those who were made to participate.
This article just provides additional proof of this.
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steveg68 at 2:50 PM November 13, 2011
I'm curious to know what type of training or background/credentials Gibbs and McFarland have in education, psychology and/or criminal justice. What type of licensing is required to run a camp like this?
What is the guy licensed as, a teacher, a rehab counselor, a criminal justice officer, a psychologist? There must be a State Board that issues a permit for the job as "Professional Idiot"--otherwise how could this guy be legally operating?
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dwobjector at 2:17 PM November 13, 2011
If bootcamps work so well to change anti-socal behavior, why are there so many military vets in prison? I was a correctional officer in the 80's when an embarassing percentage of American's prison population were Vietnam vets. We are seeing the pattern repeating itself today.
Bootcamps feed our desire for a tough recation to crime. Society wants a tough approach to appease our appetite for vengence - there's little emperical evidence that it works.
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chanteuse at 6:02 AM November 13, 2011
I've always had a "problem" with folks that wear military uniforms who are not in the military. Why does it seem that lately (the past few years anyway) that more and more police, firefighters, paramedics, corrections officers, etc. are wearing uniforms that look just like U.S. Marines? If I were I current Marine, I might be a bit upset at all the non-Marines playing dress-up. Police should go back to the traditional "police" uniform. I think they'd find they would be more appreciated and people might be less fearful of them if they didn't look like tactical combat soldiers. We're not living in Iran or Russia, are we?
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DanielLovejoy at 9:54 AM November 13, 2011
It's part of the plan. Police are para-military. A portion of the patriot act allows the president to mobilize or activate them, putting all law enforcement under the direct control of the president.
Firefighters, paramedics are auxillary. Not for law enforcement, but for clean up if thing go bad.
We have been becoming more like Cuba since 2001. The transition isn't complete, but it isn't stopping either.
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Computer Forensics Expert at 5:12 AM November 13, 2011
"Critics describe him as a fast talker, easily seducing working-class Latino families with his authority-laden persona."
Sounds like Obama.
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DanielLovejoy at 9:51 AM November 13, 2011
Way to add to the conversation troll.
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mikeasr at 3:21 PM November 13, 2011
Entirely beside the point, superficial, and ad hominem--a Republican profile of effective argument. Childish at best--pathetic in this context.
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azlefty at 6:11 PM November 13, 2011
So I see the Best Buy geek squad ins on break!
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steveg68 at 8:54 PM November 13, 2011
pretty funny...'cause its true
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Bundling at 5:00 AM November 13, 2011
A follow-up article on these types of facilities in general would be useful. How common are such reported abuses? Just reports or actual confirmations? What is their success rate-- not just anecdotal evidence, and not just immediately after the camp. I remember the "Scared Straight" programs, where juvenile offenders were taken to jails and supposedly scared enough by the prisoners that they did their best to always avoid jail after that. I also seem to remember that the lasting effect was much less than hoped-for.
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steveg68 at 2:51 PM November 13, 2011
then, you've got to see the show called "beyond scared straight", it's a laugh riot
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marsaro at 2:55 AM November 13, 2011
Hi;
this guys sounds like he went over the line. He probably had some good intentions, but went too far. Shame becuase we need more programs to help kids, and not lock them up in cages. I grew up in a military family, and it was not easy. I used to have a lot of problems with my father being over borad. But, growing up in NoHo I was lucky looking back. I do not smoke cigarettes thanks to dad making me smoke a cigar in the garage until I was green. Harsh, but it worked.