Magic Mountain Melee Produces 1 Felony Charge

Only one of the suspected gang members arrested in last week’s violence at Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park will be prosecuted on felony charges, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said Tuesday.

Seven other suspects have been released because assault victims did not identify them as their attackers or because the district attorney’s office decided not to file charges, Sgt. Lee Andresen said.

Gangs’ Code of Silence

Andresen said it is a “strong possibility” that the victims may have refused to identify their attackers in keeping with unwritten gang rules of not giving information about other gang members, even rivals, to authorities.

The suspect who was charged with a felony, Samuel Trujillo, 18, of San Fernando, pleaded not guilty Monday in Newhall Municipal Court to one count of assault with a deadly weapon. Trujillo is suspected of kicking a female security guard in the head, Andresen said.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Trujillo in Newhall Municipal Court on July 8. He is being held in the Los Angeles County Jail in lieu of $2,000 bond.

Fighting began at the amusement park early Friday morning when members of a San Fernando gang assaulted members of two rival gangs from Pacoima and Canoga Park, Andresen said.

Four members of the park’s security unit were injured when they tried to break up the fracas, including the female guard, who suffered a concussion, allegedly when Trujillo kicked her. She was hospitalized for two days and released.

Six people, all members of the Canoga Park and Pacoima gangs, were stabbed, Andresen said. All have since been released from hospitals.

Victims Didn’t Cooperate

Andresen said investigators began interviewing victims soon after order was restored at the park Friday. But, because none of the victims identified the arrested people, investigators could not build a case against four of the suspects, Andresen said.

Three of those suspects were released Monday from the sheriff’s Santa Clarity Valley Substation in Valencia. Another was transferred to Sylmar Juvenile Hall on a probation violation, Andresen said.

In three other cases, the district attorney’s office decided not to file charges because of lack of evidence against suspects who had been charged with conspiracy, possession of a dangerous weapon and attempted robbery, Andresen said. Those three suspects also were released Monday, he said.

In all, 21 people were arrested during the fighting, which occurred during the amusement park’s annual “School’s Out” party, attended by an estimated 25,000 youths.

Besides the eight felony suspects, others were arrested for trespassing or public drunkenness, misdemeanors, and released Friday, Andresen said. Their cases are pending in Newhall Municipal Court.