SAN JOSE
– The two Gilroy High School students who police arrested for
beating an alleged gang rival and fellow student with a large piece
of wood during a physical education class brawl last week appeared
in juvenile court Tuesday morning.
SAN JOSE – The two Gilroy High School students who police arrested for beating an alleged gang rival and fellow student with a large piece of wood during a physical education class brawl last week appeared in juvenile court Tuesday morning.
The two 16-year-olds, whose last names were not released by the court because they are juveniles, are both facing felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon. An enhancement charge of causing great bodily injury was added for the student who used the weapon, although no enhancement charges for gang involvement have been filed, according to Deputy District Attorney Eman Chan. An enhancement charge is added to the original charges and carries stiffer sentencing penalties.
If convicted of the charges, the 16-year-olds could face seven and four years in custody, respectively, Chan said. The boy with the bodily injury enhancement faces three additional years.
“There are no gang enhancement charges at this time,” Chan said. “But if further evidence shows up, we can add those charges.”
Both of the juvenile suspects arraigned Tuesday in San Jose have gang ties, and so does the boy they beat up, said Gilroy Police Department officers following Thursday’s fight that took place behind the home-side bleachers at Mustang Stadium.
After the fight, the victim in the confrontation – who witnesses said remained conscious while bleeding from his head – was taken by helicopter to a San Jose hospital where he was treated for head wounds and released Friday morning, according to GHS Principal Bob Bravo.
“All I can say is that it appears my client might have a very good defense,” said Patrick Hoopes, the public defender representing one of the 16-year-olds Tuesday morning. Hoopes admitted his client has a past criminal record, but he declined to go into specifics and denied his client had any gang involvement.
On Tuesday morning, the boys each attended separate arraignment hearings and both were accompanied by their mothers. Dressed in juvenile-hall-issued white T-shirts and dark pants, both of the boys gave their mothers long hugs before being re-handcuffed and led back to juvenile hall.
One of the boys’ mothers, who did not want to give her name in order to keep her son’s identity confidential, said she is upset the victim was not charged in the fight along with her son and his friend.
“There are two parts in every fight, and my son was acting in self-defense,” said the woman, who was accompanied by the other suspect’s mother. “This happened in a supervised class and no one saw how it started, so how can you just blame one party?”
The woman also denied that her son was involved in a street gang.
Police said they do not plan to file charges against the student who was taken to the hospital. Both 16-year-old suspects were arrested by Gilroy police Thursday – one at GHS and one hiding in the attic of an undisclosed residence – and each will remain in custody at juvenile hall in San Jose until their next court date on July 1.
On Tuesday afternoon Bravo said there is a good chance that any of the three students involved in the incident could be expelled or suspended from the school. The school board has the ultimate decision on any expulsion, and none of the students involved were seniors, Bravo said.
“Expulsion is considered for any student who causes harm to another,” Bravo said.
Bravo said he plans to meet with the student who was taken to the hospital in an effort to investigate the cause of the violence.
Although the incident took place during a fifth-period physical education class, the large stadium bleachers obstructed the view of teachers and security.
