SAN JOSE
– Defense attorneys intimated Monday that the alleged beating
victim in a bloody June 12 fight at Gilroy High School participated
willingly in the fray that sent the youth to the hospital and gave
him 20 stitches across his forehead.
SAN JOSE – Defense attorneys intimated Monday that the alleged beating victim in a bloody June 12 fight at Gilroy High School participated willingly in the fray that sent the youth to the hospital and gave him 20 stitches across his forehead.
The victim said he had been talking with a small group of acquaintances before one of the defendants approached a friend of his who was standing nearby.
“He said ‘You want to box,’ and I just said ‘What’s the problem. Let’s just talk,'” the victim said Monday on the stand.
The juvenile court trial against two Gilroy High School 16-year-olds accused of beating a fellow student with a piece of wood began Monday in San Jose.
The defendants, whose names were ordered by Judge Edward Davila not to be published, are facing felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon. If convicted, the youths could face seven and four years in custody, respectively, because the punishment for the student who used the piece of wood could be enhanced by another three years.
The juveniles fought before a fifth-period physical education class behind the home-side bleachers of Mustang Stadium June 12, the day before the last day of school. In the incident, one of the boys allegedly hit the victim across the forehead several times with a large piece of wood. The victim had to be flown to San Jose Medical Center where he received 20 stitches.
The victim in the case, whose name also cannot be published, told the court Monday his health was normal and that he still has a scar on the left side of his forehead from the incident.
Lawyers for the boys spent more than an hour Monday afternoon cross-examining the victim, who was accompanied by his parents and family friends. Attorney Scott Christenson, who represents the defendant who allegedly used the weapon, is scheduled to continue the cross examination today at 1:30 p.m.
Gilroy High School students who witnessed the June 12 altercation could be called as witnesses today. Some of the witnesses, defense lawyer Patrick Hoopes said, could exonerate his client.
The defendants, who are being held in juvenile hall, did not take the stand. Both of the youths were accompanied by their mothers and were clad in juvenile-hall-issued T-shirts and dark pants.
Both defense attorneys are, at the very least, trying to establish the victim as an equal participant in the brawl that student witnesses and Gilroy police believed had Gilroy gang ties. The defense lawyers and at least one of the defendant’s mothers have claimed the boys are not in gangs.
Prosecutor Eman Chan spent roughly 20 minutes questioning the victim on the stand Monday, trying to establish the boy was only protecting himself when he pushed and punched back during the fray.
Defense lawyers Monday asked the alleged victim about his height (5 feet 7 inches) and weight (roughly 250 pounds) Monday and compared the victim’s physique to the more diminutive defendants. Lawyers also grilled the youth about how many friends he had around him immediately before the incident and why he approached one of the defendants who had been speaking offensively to the victim’s friend.
According to the victim, one of the defendants levied the first several punches after both defendants used curse words and challenged the victim to fight. Defense lawyers asked the victim several questions to establish whether he was recalling the incident on his own or if he was remembering what witnesses, school officials and police told him.
The victim said he could remember the incident on his own. The victim never lost consciousness during the altercation.
Both defendants were arrested by Gilroy police June 12 – 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 the case is resolved.
Disciplinary action will be taken against all three juveniles by GHS. The defendants will likely be expelled, GHS officials have said, but school board trustees must approve the expulsions.
