BUENA PARK

City officials at 10 a.m. today will examine two areas at First Baptist Church in preparation for an upcoming civil trial. A Superior Court judge in Santa Ana last week gave the city permission to inspect the patio area, where police in 1997 arrested Warren Clewell, who had failed to register as a sex offender. Officials also will take photographs in a church closet, where the Rev. Wiley Drake said church members found some of Clewell’s journals that police were looking for. Clewell was one of dozens of homeless people who slept in the church’s patio and parking lot.

A hearing is set for June 14 in the civil case, filed by Drake and two security guards last year. The plaintiffs claim the city and its police violated their civil rights during the 1997 incident because police searched church premises without a warrant. City attorney Robert Ceccon said the search was constitutional and done with Clewell’s consent.

Drake was convicted of four misdemeanors in 1997 for housing the homeless in violation of city codes. He has since been working with city officials to provide a permanent shelter.