SAN FERNANDO VALLEY : 2 Who Fought Riot Curfew Violation Charges Cleared

Prosecutors on Friday dropped curfew violation charges against two black Cal State Northridge students who refused the plea bargains accepted by most others arrested in the April riots and contended they were singled out because of their race.

The two 23-year-old engineering majors, Anthony Winston and Gary Hopson, said they were driving home from a campus peace vigil on April 30, the second night of the riots, when they were stopped in Northridge. Cars of whites in the same area were not stopped, they said.

Instead of pleading guilty to breaking the dusk-to-dawn curfew in exchange for the typical sentence of probation and a requirement to perform 10 days of community service, Winston and Hopson demanded a jury trial.

Deputy City Atty. Victor Kalustian, who moved to dismiss the case in San Fernando Municipal Court, said, “A jury could very well have found that these two men had a legitimate purpose for being out.”