Rejected Vendor Calls City Officials Unfair

An ice cream vendor who was recently denied a license to do business in the city for not disclosing a prior criminal record accused city officials of being unfair.

Randall Timmons, a 49-year-old independent contractor from Anaheim, said he was told in a closed hearing before the City Council that he had misrepresented his criminal record by not disclosing a past conviction for smuggling marijuana and would not be allowed to run an ice cream truck in Mission Viejo.

However, Timmons said his smuggling conviction is more than 20 years old. The city’s denial “was like fraud,” he said. “I’ve got a criminal record, but most of it was a long time ago.”

Timmons said he was also arrested for being drunk in public last year. But his criminal record “doesn’t tell the whole story,” he said. “I’m an honest person. There’s no reason I can’t sell ice cream in Mission Viejo. I think the city just doesn’t like ice cream trucks in their town.”

City officials said state law prohibits any official comment on Timmons’ vending license application. “I’m not sure I can legally say anything,” City Manager Dan Joseph said.

Timmons said he has no plans to pursue the matter further and will continue selling ice cream from his white truck in unincorporated communities around the city.

“I’ll make just as much money working around Mission Viejo,” he said.