Four sentenced in Bird Rock case
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Following a lengthy and emotional hearing today, San Diego Superior Court Judge John S. Einhorn sentenced four defendants to jail and three years' probation each in the death of a professional surfer in La Jolla in May 2007.
In June, the four, members of a group called the Bird Rock Bandits, had accepted plea agreements in the death of Emery Kauanui Jr., 24.
Einhorn sentenced Eric House and Matthew Yanke, both 21, to 210 days in jail each. Orlando Osuna, 23, was sentenced to 349 days in jail. The three had pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
Henri "Hank" Hendricks, 22, was sentenced to 90 days in jail. He had pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact.
A fifth defendant, Seth Cravens, 22, is scheduled to go to trial in October on murder and other charges.
The five men, all graduates of La Jolla High School, claimed membership in the Bird Rock Bandits, which had engaged in numerous fights in the neighborhood over the past several years.
Kauanui died four days after being injured in a street fight that began as a dispute at a La Jolla bar.
Three of the four men spoke in court today, apologizing to the victim's family, their own families and the community of La Jolla
- Dana Littlefield
Posted by Susan Shroder | 01:38 PM
Comments
Less than a year for the killing of a human being... what a travesty!
Posted by: P at September 5, 2008 02:26 PM
I find it funny that these grown men are only being sentenced to county jail time. Had they been black they would be doing the maximum. Because these kids were white and the surfer they killed was a minority they are only doing county time. I think it is a shame that unless you are wealthy in white crime doesn't pay. These men are hooligans and have the same characteristics of the gangs of southeast. because they are white and affluent they are forgiven anything. Save the whale hell save the black male.
Posted by: reesce619 at September 5, 2008 02:28 PM
Absolute BS, someone dies due to vicious punches and them punks ONLY get 1-2 years. A minimum of 20 years is justifiable. I say put that idiot judge in jail along with them sleazy lawyers.
Posted by: James at September 5, 2008 02:30 PM
Remember this, kiddies, the next time you want to star in a fight video on Youtube. You might end up kiling someone and getting friendly with Bubba in jail. Oh my, consequences.
Posted by: PeterSD at September 5, 2008 02:32 PM
come on 619 dont be racist toward whites thank you
'Violence ... has got to stop'
As community mourns another slain teen, leaders say enough is enough
By Maureen Magee and Mark Arner
STAFF WRITERS
2:00 a.m. February 3, 2009
Samantha Resendiz (from left), Vivian Bahena and Cheira Tapia visited a memorial yesterday near where Hannah "Skippy" Podhorsky, 16, was killed Sunday. The memorial was set up near the spot where Hannah was shot as she left a party in San Diego's Mountain View neighborhood. - Sean M. Haffey / Union-Tribune
Hannah went to Mission Bay High. (Courtesy of the Podhorsky family)
SAN DIEGO — As grief counselors descended on the third San Diego campus to lose a student to gunfire in less than two months, residents and civic leaders called on educators, police and families yesterday to stop the violence that is plaguing their community.
Hannah “Skippy” Podhorsky was killed early Sunday when she was shot outside a friend's house in San Diego's Mountain View neighborhood. She was 16.
Hannah, a student at Mission Bay High School who lived in National City, was the third teenager killed in a shooting in southeastern San Diego since early December, when students from Lincoln and Point Loma high schools were gunned down while leaving a party in nearby Valencia Park.
“Enough is enough. The violence around here has got to stop,” said Kenny Strickland, who lives on South 42nd Street, where Hannah was shot. “My own niece, who lives with me and my mom, can't walk down the street without us worrying.”
No arrests have been made in Sunday's shooting. Police have arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with the killings in December of Monique Palmer, 17, and Michael Taylor, 15, but a judge ruled there is no evidence that he fired the fatal shots.
The three deaths might reflect what police say is a disturbing trend of gang-related shootings that target young people, who are not necessarily gang members, as they leave parties.
Hannah's father told NBC 7/39 that his daughter did not belong to a gang, but that she associated with gang members.
House parties in southeastern and central San Diego are becoming increasingly popular – and dangerous – with teenagers from throughout the city who read about them on the Internet, said Michael Brunker, executive director of the Jackie Robinson YMCA. Parties are often advertised on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and via text messaging.
“As a parent I would certainly ask, 'Do you want your child out after curfew when killers and their guns are still out on the loose?'” Brunker said. “Because until the civility changes, until there are some convictions made, until these guns are off the street – this is going to happen.”
Kevin LaChapelle, director of PowerMentor, a nonprofit that works to encourage young men to leave gangs, said late-night house parties in rough neighborhoods are risky for anyone.
More and more teens are joining “party crews,” which are similar to gangs but involve competing over who has the best parties instead of drug dealing, LaChapelle said. He added that disputes often erupt over girls or party crashers.
“That's where most of the violence is hitting is parties,” he said. “A party crew is bringing the same (set of symptoms) as gangs have.”
Gayle Saunders, who is still grieving for her nephew, Michael Taylor, lives just blocks from the site of Sunday's shooting.
“We need protection in this community,” Saunders said. “There are gangs roaming around with guns, and there are these parties that police know about.”
Many parents and community leaders are calling for more organized activities for youth. But at the same time, cities and school districts are slashing programs and money from their budgets.
San Diego school board member Shelia Jackson was in Washington, D.C., to lobby legislators to support President Barack Obama's financial stimulus package when she got word of the shooting in Mountain View, an area she represents.
“It is very sad and distressing to be losing our young people before they get a chance to enjoy life,” Jackson said. “This underscores why I am here in Washington. Now is the time to be focusing more on education – not cutting programs and laying off teachers.”
A memorial to Hannah has been set up on South 42nd Street where she died. Candles, a blue bandana, a photo of Hannah, an unopened bottle of New Castle Ale along with empty bottles and cans accompany withering blue and pink carnations.
“She was a very nice person,” said Elizabeth Perez, who said she was with Hannah when she died. “I can't believe it, it's sad.”
At Mission Bay High School, many of Hannah's closest friends declined to meet with grief counselors sent by the San Diego school district.
“I have been crying. There is nothing they can do, what's the point of seeing a counselor,” said Karen Romero, 16, who lived briefly with Hannah.
Friends consoled themselves yesterday by recounting stories of a “girlie girl” who loved rap music and food.
Martha Fernandez and her husband, George Podhorsky, are planning their daughter's funeral for Friday at Pacific Beach Christian Church, 1074 Loring Street.
“I lost my best friend,” said Fernandez, who thought Hannah was asleep in her bedroom when the shooting occurred. “She was wonderful to everybody.”
Staff writer Matthew Rodriguez contributed to this report.