SAN JOSE
– Two Gilroy High School students arrested for beating a fellow
student with a large piece of wood during a physical education
class will go to trial Monday.
SAN JOSE – Two Gilroy High School students arrested for beating a fellow student with a large piece of wood during a physical education class will go to trial Monday.
The two 16-year-olds, whose last names are not being 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.
Both boys have been in custody at juvenile hall since the June 12 incident, and both appeared in juvenile court Tuesday in San Jose when they were informed of their next court date.
If convicted of the charges, the 16-year-old with the enhancement added could face seven years in custody, while the other juvenile could face four years.
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 the next morning.
Gilroy Police Department investigators arrested the two suspects shortly after the confrontation, saying the fight was likely gang-related, although no additional charges for gang activity have been filed by the district attorney’s office.
According to Roger Cornea, Gilroy Unified School District’s student services safety officer, the two boys going to trial Monday will likely be expelled form the school.
He said disciplinary action will also likely be taken against the victim.
“Anytime there is serious physical injury it is likely the perpetrators will be expelled,” Cornea said. “There’s no doubt there was serious physical injury in this incident, so the decision has been made that they will eventually be expelled.”
