Local News in Brief : Man Who Drove Into Picketers Sentenced

A security guard who drove his pickup truck through a line of pickets at the Torrance Mobil Oil Refinery in March, injuring two men, was convicted Thursday of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. Onna Brown, 21, will face up to five years in prison when he is sentenced Nov. 7 by Torrance Superior Court Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki.

The incident occurred as striking members of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union picketed the refinery’s main gate. Brown testified that he was off duty that day and had come to the guards’ station to collect $100 owed him by a co-worker. Witnesses said he drove his truck into the two workers after he was called a “scab.”

Before jury deliberations began, Fujisaki ruled that there was not sufficient evidence for the jury to consider two attempted murder charges against Brown.