Nine guilty in beatings
Sentencing phase begins Wednesday; girl, 12, freed
By Tracy Manzer and Wendy Thomas Russell, Staff writers
Article Launched: 01/26/2007 01:34:53 PM PST
LONG BEACH: Capping an emotional and polarizing trial, a Long Beach judge on Friday found nine black youths responsible for the beating of three white women during a Halloween melee in Bixby Knolls.
A 10th defendant, a 12-year-old girl, was acquitted and ordered released immediately from Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall.
In a packed but hushed courtroom, interrupted only by occasional sobs, Long Beach Superior Court Judge Gibson Lee found the nine juveniles eight girls and a boy ages 13 to 18 guilty of assault with the intent to produce great bodily injury, a felony and a strike that will remain on the records of five minors who are 16 and older.
Many of the minors cried during the reading of the verdict. Some
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buried their faces in their sweatshirts and one girl slumped out of her chair.
Lee also found that eight of the nine committed a hate crime and that five caused great bodily injury to the victims enhancements that could add time to their sentences.
In addition to the 10, two other youths have been charged and are awaiting their cases.
The two boys, both Jordan High School students, were identified by one of the accused minors in the current case and arrested several days after the incident.
Because the court was tied up with the 10 minors cases, Lee agreed to release the two 15-year-olds to their parents back in December.
They are charged with felony assault and the same hate crime and great bodily injury enhancements and will return to court next month.
The case, which has racial divisions in Long Beach and beyond, attracted a crowd of people to the front steps of the courthouse, where more than a dozen television cameras waited to catch
Alleyne, right, the parent of a youth charged in the Oct. 31 beating, comforts another family member of an accused youth at a gathering at the North Long Beach Community Prayer Center after nine of the 10 minors were found guilty on Friday. (Jeff Gritchen / Press-Telegram)their reaction.
Sentence pending
Following the verdict, the victims were ordered back to court on Wednesday to make impact statements, which will give them a chance to talk about the effect the beatings have had on their lives.
Lee will weigh those statements along with reports from the Los Angeles County Probation Department and from statements made on behalf of the minors before issuing his sentence, or disposition, as it s called in juvenile court.
While
Byron, father of beating victim Michelle, hugs beating victim Loren, after the Bixby Knolls Holloween beating verdicts were read. (Stephen Carr / Press-Telegram)the judge has not indicated what the disposition will be, two defense attorneys interviewed Friday said their clients would likely be sent to a youth camp for a period of three, six or nine months. Such camps include schooling for youth and require them to perform community service projects.
I expect the DA to ask for six to nine months, said John Schmocker, who represented a 16-year-old girl. And I m sure that we are going to point out that they ve been in custody for almost 80 days (already).
All the juveniles were arrested Oct. 31 after a mob of some 20 to 40 youths surrounded the three white victims on Linden Avenue, near the site of a popular haunted house known for its lavish decorations.
According to court testimony, members of the mob threw pumpkins, lemons and other items at the women before pummeling them with their fists, feet, a skateboard and tree branches.
All three victims two 19-year-olds and a 21-year-old sustained serious injuries,
Cherrale, center, the parent of four children accused in the Oct. 31 Bixby Knolls beating, lowers her head during a noon-time prayer vigil outside the Long Beach Courthouse before the verdicts were announced in the case on Friday. (Jeff Gritchen / Press-Telegram)including one who had a dozen facial bones broken.
The victims and an 18-year-old black woman called as a witness by the prosecution identified all 10 minors in a police lineup the night of the attack.
The Press-Telegram has chosen not to identify the victims, witnesses and minors immediate families out of concern for their safety. The minors names are not being used because the case is in juvenile court.
Deputy District Attorney Andrea Bouas, who prosecuted the case, said racial epithets yelled by members of the group acted as the battle cry that incited the attack, which was broken up by a good Samaritan a black man who testified during the trial.
Alleged intimidation
That man broke down into sobs when he testified about the beating, saying he was horrified at the sight. He also refused to identify anyone in the case after learning that the 18-year-old witness had apparently been the victim of intimidation tactics by a local gang.
The 18-year-old awoke on her second day of testimony to find six men sitting on her car waiting for her. Police gave her an escort to court, and have since provided her protection.
But on her last day on the stand, as she testified, a car full of men drove by her car still parked in front of her home and then backed into it at full speed, totaling the vehicle.
Witnesses told police the culprits clothing was consistent with that worn by Baby Insane Crips gang members, police and the district attorney said.
Inside the courtroom Friday, officials handed out passes to 16 media representatives, who joined the victims and their families on the right side of the courtroom, across the aisle from about two dozen family members of the accused.
The victims were brought into the courtroom through a back door, one using crutches as she limped past the defendants on the way to her seat. The victim broke her ankle in an unrelated accident after the incident.
Sheriff s deputies in uniform and plain clothes stood at attention around the courtroom to quell potential outbursts.
Some of the accused smiled and waved at family members in the audience before Lee entered the room and took his seat.
Bailiffs instructed the victims and their families not to smile or clap when the verdict was read.
Lee made no opening remarks but rather delivered his rulings, one by one, in a matter-of-fact tone.
He ruled first against a 14-year-old girl, finding that she had committed three counts of assault with a deadly weapon. The girl cried and pinched her face as she watched the judge.
The next girl, an 18-year-old who was 17 at the time of the attack, also cried and dropped her chin to her chest when she, too, was found guilty of the three counts, in addition to enhancements for causing great bodily injury and committing a hate crime.
At that point, many of the other girls started to break down in tears. Two, 12 and 16, pulled their gray sweat shirts over their mouths and sobbed quietly, faces contorted with emotion.
The sobs got louder with each subsequent ruling.
At one point, a 17-year-old girl overcome with emotion slumped to the floor, while another put her hand over her face, closed her eyes and rocked back and forth in her chair.
A few girls handed tissues to each other.
The 12-year-old was the eighth to hear her fate and, by that point, was already visibly distraught. At news of her acquittal, she showed few obvious signs of relief, but continued to cover her face and sob.
The only one of the accused who seemed to show no emotion was the lone male, an 18-year-old who testified during the trial that he tried to save the victims not beat them. He was 17 at the time of the attack.
Lee did not believe his story, however, finding him guilty of every charge.
Possible sentences
Brian Schirn, head of the juvenile branch of the Long Beach district attorney s office, said the sentences could range from probation to years in the California Youth Authority, but stressed that punishment was not the goal.
The whole (purpose) of the juvenile justice system is that they ll be rehabilitated and we ll never see them (in court) again, he said.
Some defense attorneys promised to appeal the ruling.
Frank Williams Jr., who represented the 17-year-old girl who fell to the floor briefly after the verdicts, said he was shocked and disheartened by the judge s ruling.
It was very sad, he said of the courtroom atmosphere, almost as though someone had died. I think nine spirits did die.
He reiterated, as many attorneys had throughout the trial, that the type of charges levied against his client were unsupported by the testimony or physical evidence.
There was no evidence, in my opinion, to demonstrate that there was guilt, he said.
Jack Fuller, a defense attorney for one of the youths, said the law requires Lee to deliver the least restrictive disposition likely to bring about the rehabilitation of the minor.
To that end, he said, commitment to the California Youth Authority, a prison for juveniles, should not be an option.
[b]Most of the accused youths are athletes, having run track. One, the 17-year-old, represented the United States in a world competition in China last summer.
Another, one of two 18-year-old females who were 17 at the time of the attack, is a freshman at Cal State Long Beach on a track scholarship.[/b]
It is uncertain how the ruling will affect the youths athletic and educational plans, but attorneys have said all those under the age of 16 can have their records sealed after they turn 18.
This is a tragedy for all involved, Fuller said, both the victims and the minors.
Tracy Manzer can be reached at tracy.manzer@presstelegram.com or (562) 499-1261.
Wendy Thomas Russell can be reached at wendy.russell@presstelegram.com or (562) 499-1272.