Four homeless men filed a civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Eastern Division against the City of Manteca.
 They are being led by Robert Schuknecht who has become a familiar face in the 1200 block of East Yosemite with his mobile cart containing his cooking utensils and food supply blocking part of the sidewalk at the driveway entrance to McDonald’s.
Schuknecht was taking a nap next to his cart Wednesday afternoon with his straw hat over his face and his faithful dog lying next to him in a planter before being interviewed.  When asked if he would like to speak to the civil rights lawsuit, he rolled over and rose to his feet.
The others joining Schuknecht in the suit are Justin Lightsey, Mario Acosta and James Escobar.  They are being represented by the law firm of Morris and Foster out of San Francisco.
Schuknecht said all of the plaintiffs have been cited by the police for having an “illegal” campsite within the city limits. 
“They don’t have a clue what is constitutional,” he said of the Manteca City Council.  “They are operating outside the law.”
He added locked restrooms at Library Park as another problem for the homeless in the community.
He claimed that the Manteca City Council can pass whatever law they want behind closed doors with no one knowing about the session and citing the Business and Professional Code. All of the city laws regarding public places and illegal encampments, however, were adopted in open council meetings as state law requires.
“I’m not in this (suit) for money,” he said.  “I want to see the City Council taken where they belong.”

Upset police impounded
his 1996 GMC Yukon
The homeless man also told of being arrested at Library Park, saying his 1996 GMC Yukon was impounded and he couldn’t afford to get it back out of the tow yard causing it to be sold for scrap. He blamed the loss of his vehicle on police. He did not elaborate why it was impounded. Manteca Police declined comment noting they can’t discuss pending litigation. 
Three months later the charges against him were cleared and dropped by a judge, Schuknecht said.
“You cannot discriminate against homeless people just because someone doesn’t like the way you look,” he stressed, saying he works hard to keep the area near the fast food driveway as clean as he can but police are called for any litter that others create in the driveway and adjoining parking lot at a strip mall.
Schuknecht recalled sleeping under the eve of a business last Christmas Eve when a number of people brought him wrapped presents.
“The Manteca PD showed up and handed me their Christmas car in the form of a ticket for camping out because of the boxes of gifts that surrounded me,” he said.   
The homeless man said he is a giving person and anyone coming to him who is hungry is welcome to eat and anyone who is thirsty is welcome to drink from whatever he has at the time. 

He once worked for city
as a building inspector
 Schuknect said he is a licensed building inspector and worked for the City of Manteca in 2003 — licensed by the International Code Council.  He said he did all the inspections of the foundations within Spreckels Park.  And, as an 18-wheel truck driver, he is licensed to carry nuclear loads, having worked for a Manteca trucking firm in the past.  He moved to Manteca in 1982 and drove truck for 20 years, he said.
While playing his guitar near the fast food restaurant and around town, he said he only plays for tips from the public.  He said there is nothing on his cardboard signs that ask for money — saying he is only playing for tips.
While Manteca Police could not comment on the specifics of the lawsuit, they have been adhering to a clear policy that they only respond to citizen complaints about individuals blocking sidewalks or having open containers in a public place. If that person is no longer blocking the sidewalk or there is no indication of an open container in the person’s possession at the time officers arrive, they are not cited.
The city ordinances regarding illegal encampments does not target homeless per se but simply indicate they are not allowed due to health and safety concerns. At least a half dozen major fires in Manteca in recent years are believed to have been caused by homeless individuals who had trespassed and started fires to stay warm. They include a shuttered meat packing plant, a home on Union Road, warehouse-style buildings on Moffat Boulevard, and a vacant downtown apartment complex.
Illegal encampments cleared out by police include one where close to a dozen homeless individuals had created a community of sorts on the northeast side of the Louise Avenue a of Highway 99 among a cluster of trees. They had dug out a “cave” under the westbound Louise Avenue traffic lane as it leads up to the bridge.

Police do not seek
out illegal encampments
In earlier interviews Police Chief Nick Obligacion indicated officers do not seek out illegal encampments. They either respond to complaints or deal with them if they see them while patrolling streets and aren’t tied up on a call. The chief said it homeless encampments are treated the same as speeding cars, vehicles parked illegally in front of fire hydrants, and other violations of city and state law that officers come across.
The City Council moved to outlaw encampments on public property and on private property where landowners made it clear they did not provide permission for anyone to use their property for such purpose after nearby residents complained about sanitation and fire concerns among other issues.
In at least one incident Manteca Fire responded to a homeless encampment in a small orchard off Lathrop Road behind Raley’s where a homeless individual barely escape d being burned.
City Manager Karen McLaughlin ordered the Library Park restrooms locked except for special events out of concern for the safety of both the public and municipal workers.
Over the years individuals have broken into the restrooms after they were locked at night to sleep there. At the same time it has been used by people — many of whom are not homeless per se — to use drugs. It got to the point where city crews cleaning the restroom on a daily basis were finding syringes on the floor and in garbage as well as spent condoms and the aftermath of individuals defecating on the floor and not in the toilets.
The public whether they live in a home or are homeless can access the nearby restrooms in the library by asking for a key at the front desk.
The city instituted the bathroom key policy after individuals were doing the same thing in the library restrooms that they were in the nearby park restrooms.
Since the city launched its current policy those issues have gone away.