2 Deny Battering Boy’s Skull; 1 Teen’s Identity Stuns Family

Two teen-agers accused of randomly attacking a 9-year-old boy and fracturing his skull with a baseball bat denied they did it Tuesday at a hearing where the boy’s family was shaken to learn they had shared supper with one of the suspects.

The two teens, identified at the Juvenile Court hearing only as Stephen, 17, and Christopher, 16, denied charges in connection with the attack last Wednesday on Joshua Garrett of San Diego. The hearing was similar to an arraignment in Municipal Court.

Adult Trial Wanted

Judge Sheridan Reed returned the two to custody at Juvenile Hall and set a hearing for Friday, when prosecutors will ask to have the two tried as adults.

Stephen was charged with assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily harm, Deputy Dist. Atty. John L. Davidson said. Stephen also faces auto-burglary charges from an unrelated May 20 Lemon Grove break-in, Davidson said.

Christopher was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, Davidson said, adding that prosecutors have no motive for the attack, which police have labeled “random” and “isolated.”

“I can’t find any rational basis for what these two guys did whatsoever,” Davidson said. “It was a callous, malicious attack on this young boy.”

The hearing afforded Joshua’s mother, Theresa Garrett, 31, her first look at the suspects--and she said she was a “whole lot shocked” because she recognized Christopher.

“He used to come over to my mom’s house and he knew my sister and brother, and they all went to school together,” Theresa Garrett said. “My brother used to coach him--baseball or football or something like that. . . . My mom, she used to offer him dinner when he was a little kid.”

“He hasn’t seen me since he was just a little kid,” she said. “So no, there’s no way” Joshua would have been identified before the attack.

Lisa Ellis, Theresa’s 23-year-old sister, said she recognized Christopher from “when we hung around the (Del Sol) neighborhood, the same places.”

“I was pretty shocked to see him, to see it was the person, someone you recognize,” she said. “I really couldn’t believe it.”

Theresa Garrett’s mother, Bonita Ellis of San Diego, called the hearing “devastating.”

“Since they’ve grown up, I didn’t recognize them,” Ellis said. “But my children said, ‘Didn’t you remember, Mama, these kids that used to come over to the house?’ And then I remembered that they would eat with my children, including that one.”

Christopher’s relatives also spoke out after the hearing.

“I can’t believe Chris would be doing something like this,” said his aunt, who lives in Chula Vista. “Chris is a good boy. He has a good heart.”

Prosecutors believe Christopher was driving Stephen’s car down the 1600 block of Hollister Street in South San Diego when Stephen, who was sitting on the passenger side, hit Joshua on the head with the bat, Davidson said.

Joshua was struck as he rode his sister’s bicycle to a convenience store for candy, his mother said.

Stiffer Charges Possible

Prosecutors may file attempted-murder charges if medical evidence under review shows the amount of force used “is consistent with an attempt to kill,” Davidson said.

Joshua, who suffered a fractured skull, was released Sunday night from Children’s Hospital. He is expected to recover fully, a hospital spokesman said.

Joshua woke up Monday night and “thought monsters were chasing him,” his mother said Tuesday. “He yelled out for me because he was scared. I told him there were no monsters.”