2 Teens Who Were With Girl During Attack Are Arrested After Burglary

<p>Two teen-agers who were with a 15-year-old Stanton girl the night her face was slashed during a well-publicized brawl were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of burglary, law enforcement authorities said.

Lewis Jones, 19, and a 16-year-old boy, both of Anaheim, were arrested by sheriff’s deputies about 3 p.m. at an Anaheim motel in connection with a residential burglary that occurred Monday. The name of the 16-year-old was not released because of his age.

Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Richard Olson would not say what led investigators to the suspects.

The burglary occurred at a condominium in the 9100 block of Cerritos Avenue in Anaheim. The condo was ransacked and an estimated $1,600 worth of property was taken, Olson said.

Both teen-agers are friends of Amber Jefferson and were with her on the night of Aug. 7 when she was severly injured during a brawl, a law enforcement source close to the case said. The Jefferson family has credited Jones with saving Amber’s life that night.

Amber and her parents have alleged that the attack was racially motivated. The girl’s mother is white and her father black. The incident became a rallying point for civil rights activists who maintained that it was proof that racism is prevalent in Orange County.

The district attorney’s office, however, declined to file hate-crime charges in the case, saying the brawl stemmed from a dispute between two girls over a boyfriend and was not racially motivated.

Jones had been arrested in connection with the brawl, much to the outrage of the Jefferson family. He has pleaded not guilty to malicious mischief, assault with a deadly weapon and fighting in public.