Mother of O.C. Man Killed in Fight Says Justice Denied

As with most families, the Thanksgiving Day gathering was a cherished tradition for Regina Hardin and her son, Bryan Bensfield.

But today, the holiday is just a bitter reminder of the Westminster man’s death, and a milestone in his mother’s quixotic search for the justice she believes has been denied him.

“To most people, Thanksgiving is a happy holiday, a time for families. But for me, Thanksgiving is the night they took my boy,” Hardin said, weeping quietly as she sat in front of a virtual shrine to her son that included more than two dozen photographs--some enlarged to poster size--and a single, lighted candle.

Last Thanksgiving Day, the 24-year-old Bensfield lapsed into a coma after two fistfights outside Tijuana Jones, a now-closed Westminster nightclub notorious to police as a trouble spot. He died five days later, when he was taken off life-support systems.

Law enforcement officials say they do not have sufficient evidence to bring charges. Problems with the case include conflicting accounts of the events leading up to Bensfield’s fatal injuries, including whether Bensfield--who was highly intoxicated that night--may have provoked the fights.

Complicating matters further is Bensfield’s background, which includes several arrests relating to alcohol and at least two arrests--one resulting in conviction--for violent behavior, prosecutors said.

Orange County’s top prosecutor, Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi, who personally reviewed the case after receiving letters from Hardin, said the evidence shows Bensfield brought on his own fatal injuries.

“Unfortunately, his death was a direct result of his behavior--he was drunk, he was loud, he was making rude comments and he was the aggressor,” Capizzi said. “I feel for the mother but it is unfortunate that her emotions prevent her from clearly and fairly looking at the evidence.”

But the prosecutors’ decision not to pursue criminal charges consumes Hardin. It has unleashed a mother’s determination to put her son’s assailants behind bars.

“Friends who mean well tell me to let it rest, that life is for the living,” Hardin said. “Some people might think that I’m obsessed. But I say that if you have ever lost a child under violent circumstances like this, you would understand. I am doing this because Bryan can’t. My son is dead.”

Hardin refinanced her home to hire private investigator John Ewell to dig up new evidence. Ewell concluded that police never seriously pursued the possibility that Bensfield was murdered.

Prosecutors say the police investigation, which includes hundreds of pages of documents and interviews with more than a dozen witnesses, was a thorough review of the case.

An office manager, Hardin has also turned to advertising for help. She has used space on bus-stop shelters, benches and even billboards throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties to ask witnesses to come forward. She has distributed thousands of flyers with the same message.

One of the bright yellow posters occupies a bus-stop shelter outside the Orange County Courthouse where Capizzi’s office is located.

“Did you witness my murder?” asks the poster depicting a smiling Bensfield and a phone number to call with information about the slaying.

Hardin led efforts to close down Tijuana Jones, at 16310 Beach Blvd. The establishment was operating as a nightclub in violation of its business permit and closed in February, days before the Westminster City Council heard emotional testimony from Hardin and voted to ban the club from offering live entertainment and alcohol.

The club was often a hot spot for trouble, said police, who were called there 98 times in the year before it closed.

Hardin repeatedly attended City Council meetings, often clutching the shredded black shirt her son was wearing the night he was fatally injured as she tearfully pleaded with city officials to re-investigate the slaying.

When that didn’t work, Hardin ran for mayor of Westminster on a campaign to improve government and law enforcement’s response to the public. She lost, but garnered nearly 20% of the vote--a sizable sum for someone with little name recognition and even less funding.

“All I had was $3,500, mostly my own money, because I refused to take money from special interest groups,” said Hardin, who has another son, Clint Bensfield, 22. Hardin raised her sons alone after divorcing years ago.

Most recently, Hardin has filed a civil suit against the city of Westminster, the bar where Bensfield was injured and the two men who fought with Bensfield that night. Attorney Harold Potter, who is representing the city, said it has no liability in the case.

A court date is set for June 4, 1993, said Hardin’s attorney, Robert Ciaccio.

Hardin said she will not give up until prosecutors file charges against the two men she believes are responsible for her son’s death. She said she has collected several thousand signatures urging a grand jury to hear the issue. All she wants, Hardin claims, is her day in court.

“I think a murder was committed, but if a jury doesn’t see it that way, so be it,” she said. “What I can’t accept is a prosecutor or detective deciding this. My son was beaten to death. I can’t accept someone telling me that a crime was not committed, or there is no evidence.

“When did it happen that someone dies and they can say, ‘Sorry, too bad, we don’t want to bother’?” Hardin said. “Why is it that someone dies and society is not outraged?”

Prosecutors acknowledge that, at first blush, it may be difficult to understand how Bensfield could meet his death before more than a dozen witnesses without criminal charges being filed. The main problem with the case is conflicting statements from witnesses, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Lewis R. Rosenblum, who made the decision not to charge anyone in connection with Bensfield’s death.

Bensfield’s blood-alcohol level was 0.22--nearly three times the legal limit--the night he was fatally injured.

This much is not in dispute: Bensfield, who had spent the Thanksgiving holiday with his mother, brother and more than 20 friends and relatives, headed for the nightclub with two friends shortly before midnight.

On their way to the front door of the club, Bensfield approached a woman, grabbed her from behind and made an obscene or suggestive comment, witnesses said.

After the woman rebuffed Bensfield, he was approached by 22-year-old Garrett Ross, an Orange man who was at the club. Ross told police he confronted Bensfield about his rude comments to the woman.

Witnesses disagree on who started the scuffle, but Bensfield was nearly knocked over when pushed by Ross. Bouncers tried to break up the skirmish, but a few moments later Bensfield bloodied Ross’ nose by striking him in the face.

Witnesses also disagree on what took place next. Some say Bensfield agreed to leave and began walking away with his friends. Other say Bensfield continued cursing and challenging anyone to fight, even as he was walking away to his vehicle.

Mike Raum, 22, of Orange, who is a friend of Ross, told police Bensfield began yelling at him, challenging him to fight. Raum told police he agreed to the fight, fearing that Bensfield would attack him. Blows were exchanged, Raum said, and Bensfield fell and struck his head on the concrete.

But others, including the friends who accompanied Bensfield that night, recall it differently. Kerrison Stoffal, 26, said Bensfield had agreed to leave the area when he was ambushed from behind and then kicked in the head by Raum.

“I agree with Regina (Hardin)--I don’t think justice will be done until some sort of charges are filed,” Stoffal said. “Bryan never had a chance.”

Raum’s attorney, Gregory G. Brown, and Ross’ attorney, David C. Baker, said their clients are not responsible for Bensfield’s injuries.

There is also controversy about what caused Bensfield’s death. Rosenblum said the fatal injuries, which included a skull fracture, were caused when Bensfield fell backward against the pavement, causing trauma to the front of his brain as it slammed against his skull in a whiplash effect.

Rosenblum said that theory is consistent with conclusions of an autopsy, which showed that the fatal injuries were to the front of Bensfield’s brain.

But Ewell, the private investigator hired by Hardin, believes the fatal blow was a kick to the face, as described by Stoffal.

Rosenblum said seven fellow prosecutors reviewed the case and agreed with his decision not to file charges. “Ethics prevent us from filing a criminal case unless we believe that case can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Rosenblum. “What should we do, say, ‘Well, we’re not sure there’s a crime here, but why not file it anyway’?”

He also said he would be willing to review the case if new evidence was presented.

“I really do feel for his mother, but I think the criticism of us is unfair,” Rosenblum said. “Our job is to defend the rights of victims and victims’ families.”

Rosenblum said it was clear that Bensfield was looking to fight that evening and was the aggressor.

“He just kept challenging people to fight that night, and unfortunately he got one,” he said. “It was mutual combat.”

Rosenblum said his office could not file less-serious charges, such as assault, as Hardin has asked.

“If a person commits assault and the victim dies, that’s murder, so if we don’t have enough evidence to file a murder count, we don’t have enough for an assault count,” Rosenblum said.

Rosenblum declined to discuss Bensfield’s background in detail, but said defense attorneys would seek to bring a defendant’s past record into court, which would raise troubling questions for a jury in this case.

Records show Bensfield was arrested eight times since 1986, including being charged twice for battery, twice for being drunk in public, once for driving under the influence of alcohol, once for possessing a switchblade knife and once for resisting police.

On June 18, 1989, he was arrested on battery charges after breaking a man’s nose during a fight at a Huntington Beach party, but the charges were later dismissed-- as they were in most of Bensfield’s arrests.

But on Nov. 17, 1989, Bensfield was convicted of a misdemeanor vandalism charge stemming from an incident in which he damaged a woman’s car in a Huntington Beach parking lot after she ignored his repeated advances at a restaurant, records show.

Hardin admits that her son was no choirboy, but says he did not deserve to be fatally beaten in the street like an animal.

“I know he had minor scrapes, but I think he has already paid society for what he’s done wrong,” Hardin said. “Bryan was murdered. That has nothing to do with what he may have done in the past.”

But Hardin says she has faced the reality that she may never get the type of justice that she wants for her son. The one-year anniversary of his death has fueled her determination, but time has not eased her sorrow.

“In some ways it gets worse, especially around the holidays,” she said. “I keep waiting for him to walk in, and throw his arm around me and say ‘Hi, Cutie,’ like he always did,” Hardin said.

As for Thanksgiving, Hardin said there will be no holiday at her home this year--and probably not for many years to come. She will gather with her surviving son and her fiance for a dinner like any other night.

“There will be no Thanksgiving for us,” she said quietly. “What do I have to be thankful for? My son is dead.”