Freed Members of Spur Posse Get Heroes’ Welcome

Five days after their arrest on suspicion of committing rape or other sex crimes, at least four teen-age members of the “Spur Posse” returned to Lakewood High School on Tuesday to a heroes’ welcome, while embattled school administrators tried to restore order to a campus mockingly being referred to as “Rapewood.”

Even as camera crews and Los Angeles County sheriff’s patrol cars continued to cruise near the peaceful suburban campus, many students greeted the returning suspects with cheers and back slaps. One girl, a 15-year-old freshman, hailed one of the arriving Spurs and voiced the widespread student skepticism about the rape allegations, saying: “There are so many girls out there who want to sleep with these guys. They are so fine. They wouldn’t have to rape anyone.”

But the outward displays of support only hinted at the underlying turmoil and frustration that gripped a community struggling to deal with a sex scandal that has become national news. As if scorched by the unrelenting media spotlight, many students became openly hostile toward the press and harshly critical of sheriff’s investigators who last week accused nine current or former Lakewood High School students of rape and other sex crimes involving underage girls.

Late Monday, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed a single charge of lewd conduct against a juvenile, who was arraigned Tuesday. The suspect pleaded not guilty to the felony charge and a trial date was set for April 8.

However, the district attorney’s office refused to file charges against four youths and has asked for further evidence before proceeding against four others, a turn of events that stunned sheriff’s investigators and left many parents and students confused and angry.

Some were angry about the arrests, saying the investigation of the Spur Posse--whose members kept score of their sexual encounters by accumulating “points”--was needless and overblown. Others were angry that most of the rape allegations had been so abruptly rejected by the district attorney’s office, which reviewed evidence and interviewed purported victims over the weekend.

“I think they got everything they deserved (in being arrested), and I can’t believe they’re back in school,” said one 18-year-old senior, who--like many others-- asked not to be identified. She recalled an encounter in which one member of the Spurs entered a home where she was visiting and “jumped on top of me,” saying, “Let’s hook up.” She and another friend had to chase the boy away, the senior said.

Over the last two years, Spurs repeatedly pressured her in an effort to have sex, the senior said.

A parent who called herself Sue, who was at school Tuesday to try to meet with Principal Mike Escalante about the campus situation, described her daughter as being scared to attend classes with the Spurs.

“I’m appalled by the district attorney’s decision,” the mother said, saying that her daughter had been victimized by members of the group who were eager to “hook up” with the teen-ager. For that reason, the mother said angrily, she plans to remove her daughter from Lakewood High and enroll her at nearby Mayfair High School.

“Those boys got away with it because they’re the big men on campus,” the parent said.

Another parent, who was picking up a son and daughter after school, voiced the bewilderment that many in the community were feeling by questioning the moral values of today’s youth. “Whatever happened to love?” the parent asked, declining to disclose her name. “It used to be that you went (out on dates) to a movie. And now you just go and have sex, I guess.”

Sheriff’s investigators, who had talked confidently of making further arrests in the case, were surprised and, in some instances, bitterly disappointed over the district attorney’s refusal to proceed with many of the complaints. Still, they vowed to continue their search for evidence.

“The district attorney’s office has its job to do and we have our job to do,” said Lt. Joseph R. Surgent of the sheriff’s Child Abuse Detail, which is heading the investigation. “Their burden of proof is different than our burden of proof. My investigation has not taken any directional change.”

Surgent said detectives are hopeful of furnishing enough information on the four cases still under review to enable them to go forward as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the possibility remained that further arrests could be made, he said. Surgent said it was unlikely that the district attorney’s action might create a chilling effect on new arrests.

However, sources within the Sheriff’s Department disagreed and struggled to look for reasons for the unexpected stumbling block. One theory was that investigators made highly publicized arrests without bringing members of the district attorney’s office “into the loop” at a politically correct point in time, said one deputy who spoke on the condition that he not be identified.

“We haven’t yet figured out exactly what it is they’re angry about, or what they’re reluctant about,” the deputy said of the district attorney’s staff. “(But) if I were a betting man, I’d bet this was not over.”

The district attorney’s office announced that the only provable charges against four of the suspects involved unlawful intercourse with minors. That determination apparently was at odds with sheriff’s detectives who believed they could show that the suspects coerced the girls to have sex through the use of force, in one case, or verbal threats, in other instances, sources said.

Without compelling proof of rape, the district attorney’s office abided by an unwritten policy, spokeswoman Suzanne Childs said. The office does not file charges in unlawful intercourse cases if the minors involved are of roughly the same age and social experience, Childs said.

“Politics had nothing to do with it,” Childs said. “Cases are rejected all the time.”

Although rumors circulated that the Sheriff’s Department would bring political pressure against newly elected Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti to take a more aggressive stance in prosecuting the Spurs, authorities only said that the two offices would continue to work together in collecting and reviewing evidence.