Recent assault by door-to-door salesman can serve as wake-up
call for residents
Morgan Hill – A Dec. 5 incident in which a door-to-door salesman allegedly slapped a Morgan Hill resident is arousing interest in the community for more information about how these types of vendors operate and the regulations they operate under.
The salesman, Alan Amerson, 41, of Chicago, was arrested by Morgan Hill police officers for alleged battery. Another man in the the group of purported magazine salespeople was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance; two other men in the group were also arrested after a teenage girl, missing from Colorado for three months, was found to be traveling with the group.
Most door-to-door sales people in Morgan Hill probably don’t have business licenses authorizing them to sell, according to city officials, but most of them also do not assault their potential clients.
While they legitimately may be selling magazines, vacuum cleaners or other items for real companies, these vendors should have a license to do business in the city of Morgan sHill, said Jack Dilles, Morgan Hill’s director of finance.
The city application they must fill out asks questions in order to issue the license, including who owns the business, what the address is, before the license is entered into the system, the city does not do a thorough background check on the business; the license is a means to allow the person or group to do business in the city.
Dilles said the city charges an application fee of $49, and the tax is $60 for six months. From the city’s perspective, he said, the answers to those business questions are the focus. If the business is door-to-door sales, Dilles said, the city typically asks for the names of all the solicitors.
Morgan Hill police Sgt. David Swing said that while there may be some door-to-door salespeople that are not legitimate, there are salespeople who are.
“It’s a judgment call, really, and each person has to make a decision based on their level of comfort,” he said. “Obviously, if someone becomes aggressive or the resident feels threatened, then they need to call police.”
If a salesperson cannot produce a business license when asked, Swing said, residents don’t need to call the police emergency number but can report the person or group by calling
779-2101.
In the incident involving the missing teen, a resident was curious about the teen, who was selling magazines with a groupm because, he said, “something felt wrong;” he found the girl’s picture on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Web site and contacted police.
The 17-year-old girl was taken to a children’s shelter to wait for her family to arrive to pick her up.
Dilles said Friday that the city has six licenses on file for street peddlers, a classification that includes door-to-door sales, as well as individual vendors such as ice cream trucks. He said that one of the licenses includes a list of 12 solicitors.
While reiterating that to open the door to a stranger or not is a matter of personal judgment, Swing did say that perhaps opening the door with a cordless phone in hand is a good idea.
“That way, if it is someone needing help, you have the phone there and can ask, ‘who can I call for you,’ or, if it is someone that is questionable, the fact that you have the phone in hand and can quickly call police may be a deterrent in itself,” he said. “A cordless phone is preferable to a cell phone because it is tied in to a location, so that if the call becomes disconnected, officers would be able to respond to the location if necessary.”
The recent assault on the Morgan Hill resident was rare, Swing said. He said to his knowledge, there were no reported cases of door-to-door sales people actually striking residents. The MHPD does get “fairly frequent” calls from residents about salespeople who are annoying or persistent.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@*************es.com.
