Charges Are Reduced in Stabbing of O.C. Teen : Crime: Two men now face lesser felony assault counts in spearing of youth. Investigators see no gang, racial motives.

Two men were each charged Tuesday with six counts of felony assault and one count of throwing a projectile at a moving vehicle in connection with the gruesome spearing of a San Clemente High School boy last week.

Orange County sheriff’s deputies had arrested nine suspects on suspicion of attempted murder after a Friday night attack on a group of students at Califia Beach County Park left 17-year-old Steve Woods in a coma.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Gary Paer said felony assault charges were filed instead, because there is no evidence that the attack was premeditated. Nor is there evidence to suggest that it was racially motivated or gang-related, Paer said, although investigators say several suspects admitted that they are members or affiliates of a San Clemente gang.

“I think this (attack) was outrageous . . . it’s a tragedy . . . but we have no evidence to establish it was gang-related or a gang incident,” said Paer, a member of the district attorney’s gang detail. “The racial thing is totally off-base. . . . This was like a spontaneous thing. It happened real fast.”

Arraignment on the felony charges against Juan Enriquez Alcocer, 20, and Arturo Villalobos, 20, both of San Clemente, was set Nov. 2 in Laguna Niguel Municipal Court by Judge Ronald P. Kreber. Four of the five juveniles are expected to be charged with the same seven felony counts today when they appear in Juvenile Court in Orange, Paer said.

Two other San Clemente men who had been arrested--Pascual Guerrero Bonilla, 19, and Balfred Brito, 19--were released Tuesday because of insufficient evidence. However, Paer said there would “most definitely” be more arrests in the case at a later time.

One of the juveniles is also expected to be released, said Sheriff’s Lt. Tom Davis, the acting police chief of San Clemente.

After reviewing the evidence, Davis agreed with the assault charges against the suspects, although that “might change,” he said.

“In order to have an attempted homicide, we have to have specific intent, and evidence of premeditation is lacking at this time,” Davis said. “But we are still investigating and tracking every lead we possibly can.”

The lesser charges upset Woods’ family members, but they said they were not surprised.

“I expect them to get off,” said Shellie Woods, 26, the victim’s sister. “Look what happened in the Reginald Denny case. . . . The law protects the guilty and the innocent pay the price.”

The Woods family and friends appeared at a press conference at Children’s Hospital at Mission, which is attached to Mission Viejo Regional Hospital and Medical Center. Steve Woods remained there in a coma Tuesday afternoon.

They said they were trying to rally support for a public crackdown on gang violence in South County.

“I agreed to be here to make a difference,” said Kathy Woods, Steve Woods’ mother, who was distraught and would speak only briefly. “This is . . . senseless.” She called for other mothers to help mount a campaign to get “stronger laws.”

Alison Moore, a manager at the Denny’s restaurant in San Clemente where Steve Woods worked as a waiter, also decried the violence.

“We want our city back,” Moore said. “This is going to be another L.A. if we don’t do something about it.”

The prognosis for Woods remains grim because of the severity of the injury, doctors said. Woods was speared by a paint-roller rod, which pierced his skull almost from ear to ear, causing damage deep in the part of the brain that controls the body’s basic life-sustaining functions, doctors said.

Dr. Bruce Moffatt, a neurosurgeon who treated Woods Friday night, said he expects “this will be an irreversible injury and probably not survivable.”

“Right now, 90% of the brain stem is not working,” Moffatt said.

Neither witnesses, sheriff’s investigators nor Paer are sure how Woods suffered such a devastating injury.

Woods and four carloads of other teen-agers from San Clemente High had met at the beach after a high school football game and were attempting to leave sometime before 10 p.m. when investigators say they were assaulted by another group of between 10 and 15 young men and juveniles.

According to police reports on file in Municipal Court, the attack began when a 17-year-old student drove up to the suspects, thinking that he recognized someone. After some words were exchanged, the 17-year-old was punched in the face. He then drove to a lower parking lot to warn his friends that he had been struck and that they should leave.

A moment later, the students got into four cars and headed toward the parking lot’s only exit at a high rate of speed, according to police reports.

Paer said that the group of assailants pelted the students’ cars with rocks, bottles, pieces of metal and a paint roller as they tried to drive out of the parking lot. The students said they ducked, but it was unclear whether Woods poked his head out a smashed window or simply hunched down in his seat when he was hit with the paint roller rod, Paer said.

However, the suspects told investigators that the students appeared to be driving directly at them and that some were yelling as they passed. Most of the suspects admitted throwing objects at the cars, according to police reports.

Villalobos, one of the suspects charged Tuesday, said he threw a “paint roller” that he had “at the last car,” according to police reports.

However, Paer, who described the spearing of Woods as “a freak injury,” contends that the teen-ager was hit directly by one of the suspects.

“The item was not thrown in the air . . . it was probably in someone’s hand,” he said. “That’s the only way it could happen.”

At the San Clemente Community Center on Tuesday, the tragedy generated one of the largest turnouts ever--about 40 people--for the community’s year-old Task Force for Youth, which involves everyone from school principals, police officers and city officials to parents, service club leaders and students.

“I feel good that we’ve got people committed to working for solutions,” said Carol Bonner, task force chairwoman. “It’s unfortunate this (tragedy) was required to mobilize us, but perhaps it’s one of those tragic events that will cause a resurgence in the community.”

Many at the meeting said the real issue was youth violence and that more parental and community involvement is needed if future tragedies are to be avoided.

“This is not a racial issue,” said San Clemente High School Principal Chris Cairns. “This is a community concern, and we all need to work together.”

Four of the nine suspects initially arrested in the case are students at San Clemente High School and will face expulsion hearings, school officials said.

Friends of Steve Woods have set up a fund for him at P.O. Box 4325, San Clemente, Calif. 92674-4325.

Times staff writers Anna Cekola, Leslie Berkman and Mark I. Pinsky contributed to this report.