Judge Acquits Student in Stabbing : Courts: Ruling says the minor was justified in using deadly weapon against a football player in a fight at Buena High.

Ruling that the use of a deadly weapon was justified, a Juvenile Court judge on Tuesday acquitted a 17-year-old Buena High School student who had stabbed a football player during a fight on campus.

At a closed hearing, Judge Frederick A. Jones decided that the 17-year-old minor was not the aggressor in the Feb. 22 incident, according to attorneys involved in the case. The judge said the minor had tried repeatedly to get away from Jeremy Addison, an 18-year-old senior who outweighed him by 50 pounds.

Attorneys said the judge cited evidence showing that Addison started the fight, chased the minor across campus and punched him in the face. The minor brandished the knife to keep Addison away, the judge said, but Addison was not dissuaded from chasing him.

“The minor was trying to avoid this confrontation,” said Robert Schwartz, the youth’s lawyer. “As a last resort, he used the knife.”

Addison, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound starting linebacker, was stabbed in the chest, suffering a collapsed lung, but has recovered.

Last Thursday, Addison was charged with one misdemeanor count of battery and one count of battery on school property. He could face up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. He was not available for comment Tuesday.

Schwartz said the judge’s ruling sends a message to bullies: “The bottom line is, you just can’t go around hitting people. It’s that simple.”

Prosecutors, who had taken the position that excess use of force was not warranted because Addison had used only his fists, were not surprised by the ruling.

“We knew going in it was certainly a case where reasonable minds could differ,” said Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Kevin J. McGee.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Patricia J. Kelliher added: “The judge felt the most important issue was that the victim was the only aggressor in the entire confrontation and continued to be the aggressor despite efforts by the 17-year-old to literally run away.”

According to Schwartz, the origin of the incident occurred Feb. 20 at school when Addison and the 17-year-old, who was not named because of his age, accidentally bumped into each other and a shoving match escalated into a fight. Both students were suspended but Addison was allowed back in school Feb. 22. The minor was not allowed back until the following day but came on campus with the knife on Feb. 22.

Calling the ruling “stupid,” Buena High senior Michael van Baal said: “How can it be self-defense? The guy came to school with a knife while he was suspended. He was looking for a fight.”

Other Buena students also reacted negatively to the decision.

“I saw most of (the fight) and think he was definitely guilty,” said sophomore Sarah Richey. “He wasn’t acting in self-defense.”

Freshman Hugo Buriel said: “It’s not fair he got away with it.”

Parent Kathy Gunther, whose son Curt is a sophomore, was upset by the decision. “I don’t think people should get away with stabbing people. It’s scary. When my husband was young he fought with his fists. I’ve got a constant worry about my son when I think about kids carrying knives and guns.”

But Buena junior Archie Lingard thought the decision was “cool . . . it was self-defense. Today, you could get shot just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. So don’t blame him for having the knife.”

Kelliher hoped the public would not take the ruling “as a license to arm themselves.”

Asked if the decision would encourage kids to bring weapons to school, Richey said: “I think most of us know it’s not all right to carry weapons and this isn’t going to change that. The school is really trying to crack down, but there will always be some kids who bring them, no matter what.”

After the stabbing, the 17-year-old was expelled from school for bringing a knife on campus, meaning that he cannot attend a school in the Ventura Unified School District for the rest of the school year. Schwartz did not know if the acquittal would affect the expulsion.

Times staff writer Sara Catania contributed to this story.