Boy, 14, Gets 6-Month Sentence for His Part in Racist Attack

A 14-year-old skinhead was sentenced Monday to six months in Juvenile Hall for his part in a racist attack on a Chinese-American youth and two of his friends last July.

The youth, who is from Whittier, had earlier pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon in the attack, which occurred July 7 at Gilman Partin Park in Fullerton. The Chinese-American youth, an honors student, was knocked unconscious, and two Caucasian friends with him sustained bruises.

David S. Weinberg, the lawyer for the defendant, tried to withdraw the guilty plea Monday, contending that his client did not fully understand the charge he had admitted guilt to and that his role in the attack did not justify such a serious charge. Superior Court Judge Robert B. Hutson rejected that request.

Weinberg then asked that Hutson impose only a 90-day sentence, but Hutson denied that too. The six-month sentence will be followed by a period of probation to be served in Los Angeles County.

The youth--clad in faded blue jeans and a white T-shirt, his head shaved save for a center strip tied in a ponytail--stood quietly in as Hutson announced the sentence.

Weinberg said after the hearing that the youth had pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon--his hands--on the theory that by being there he aided and abetted in the assault.

Weinberg said his client’s only contact with the victim was to push him because he had stumbled into his client after being punched by another defendant.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gary Paer said that of the 10 original defendants in the case, there is only one, an adult, still facing trial. The others--one adult and eight juveniles--all pleaded guilty or have been convicted.

The Whittier youth was one of a group of skinheads who had terrorized a black family in Tri-City Park in Placentia hours before the Fullerton attack. Police reportedly photographed the youth making a Nazi salute in the Placentia incident.