UCLA Student Guilty of Rose Bowl Assault : Trial: The 20-year-old could receive up to seven years in prison for kicking a UC Berkeley alumnus in the head during a brawl after a football game.

A UCLA student was convicted last week of assault with a deadly weapon for kicking a UC Berkeley alumnus in the head during a chaotic post-football game brawl outside the Rose Bowl last fall.

Larry Yoshihara Weng, 20, a junior psychology major who also worked for the UCLA campus security service, kicked Richard Pearson in the head while he was sitting on the ground “in a daze, absolutely helpless,” after being punched by one of Weng’s fraternity brothers, the prosecutor said.

Pearson, 24, who had been trying to break up a fight between several students, sustained a concussion and had his jaw broken in two places, requiring it to be wired shut for six weeks, Deputy Dist. Atty. Elizabeth Siegmund said.

“Mr. Pearson never knew what happened,” Siegmund said. “He was sitting on his rear end, head in his hand, dazed, and this guy comes running up behind him.”

The fight began after the Golden Bears’ victory over the Bruins on Oct. 5, when Cal fans tossed beer onto a bus carrying members of UCLA’s Sigma Phi Epsilon. Several fraternity members, including Weng, left the bus and began scuffling with the Cal students.

Pearson was trying to break up the fighting when he was hit in the back of the head by Juan Flores, one of Weng’s fraternity brothers, Siegmund said. Flores pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery in December and was placed on probation for a year, she said.

During his trial in Pasadena Superior Court, Weng, a resident of Alhambra, testified that he kicked Pearson to prevent him from getting up and attacking Flores.

Weng had fought with several people before he broke away and ran toward the bus for safety, his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Ramon Quintana said. As he ran, Weng saw Pearson on his knees in front of Flores and thought Pearson was going to resume fighting with his fraternity brother.

“When he kicked him, Mr. Weng felt in danger for himself and felt his buddy was in danger,” Quintana said, adding that his client intended to kick Pearson in the shoulder--not in the head. “It was total chaos out there, and he had very little time to assess the situation. He felt his use of force was reasonable and justified.”

After less than a day of deliberations, the jury last Friday convicted Weng of assault with a deadly weapon with great bodily injury. Weng could be ordered to serve up to seven years in state prison when sentenced June 12.