Teen Gets 10 Years in O.C. ‘Gay Bashing’ Case : Courts: His co-defendant receives one-year jail term. Judge says near-fatal assault was ‘clearly a hate crime.’

Ending a hate crime case that outraged Orange County’s gay community, a judge Friday ordered a San Juan Capistrano man to serve 10 years in prison and sentenced his co-defendant to a year in jail for a near-fatal assault on a Costa Mesa man they believed was homosexual.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey denounced the assault as “savagery” and refused requests for lenient sentences for Jeffrey Michael Raines, 19, and San Clemente resident Christopher Michael Cribbins, 23. Lawyers for the pair had tried to portray the Jan. 9, 1993, attack on Loc Minh Truong, 56, as the act of immature boys whose attempt at macho behavior went awry.

“This is clearly a hate crime,” Dickey said before a courtroom crowded with nearly 60 people, more than half of whom were Raines’ relatives and friends. “This crime was planned ahead of time, and it involved excessive violence and viciousness.”

Truong was found unconscious on a desolate stretch of Laguna Beach, his left eye severely damaged and protruding from its socket, and a rock lodged three-quarters of an inch into the back of his head. Truong can no longer walk without assistance and expects to spend several years in therapy to regain the ability to perform the simplest tasks.

The beating, which occurred in a small enclave that has traditionally served as a safe haven for Orange County gays and lesbians, sparked an outcry from gay-rights advocates, local politicians, police and others.

It also served to underscore the fear that many Orange County gays and lesbians say they endure as a result of their sexual orientation.

Truong, who did not attend Friday’s sentencing, has said he is not gay. He has filed a lawsuit against Raines and Cribbins, asking for unspecified damages for lost wages and the cost of his hospital stay.

During a two-hour sentencing hearing, Raines hung his head as he apologized for his crimes. Earlier, Raines’ priest and two family friends testified on his behalf, describing him as a polite, church-going youth who never showed signs of violence.

“I am really, truly sorry for everything that happened,” said Raines, who spoke in a low voice and appeared near tears. “I can’t do anything to overcome what happened. I can only express my guilt and remorse.

“I am a man. I have to accept responsibility. I ask all of you to forgive me and have mercy on me,” Raines said, adding that he was raised in the Catholic faith to love all those around him and vowed to follow those teachings again. “That’s how I’m going to be the rest of my life.”

Raines blinked his eyes and braced himself, as if for a blow, when Dickey sentenced him. After being led away to a holding cell near the courtroom, Raines could be heard crying loudly.

Laguna Beach City Councilman Robert F. Gentry, who is gay, said in a telephone interview that the sentences handed down Friday were appropriate.

“I am pleased that the severity of the sentence matches the severity of the act and does indeed send a message that people cannot attempt to kill people just because of who they are. And so I applaud the judge’s decision,” Gentry said.

Two women who described themselves as “proud lesbians” from Anaheim attended the hearing and said they were “satisfied” with the sentences.

Raines, Cribbins and several other young men were drinking and hanging out that night nearly one year ago when Raines suggested the group “beat some fag up,” according to court records. While the other men eventually backed away from joining the attack, Raines and Cribbins went after Truong, the records show.

Raines, who nearly beat Truong to death, pleaded guilty in August to attempted murder, assault and an allegation that the attack was a so-called “hate crime.” Cribbins, who started the attack by pushing Truong but then ran away, also pleaded guilty to assault and committing a hate crime.

Deputy Public Defender Denise Gragg, who represented Cribbins, said her client was also deeply remorseful for his crimes. Gragg asked the judge to fan “the ember of humanity” glowing in Cribbins by sparing him a stretch in jail, where he will be influenced by other inmates.

But Dickey gave Cribbins a yearlong jail sentence and placed him on five years’ probation--an unusually long time.

Both Gragg and Raines’ defense attorney, Frederick McBride, told Dickey that the defendants were immature boys who had false impressions of how a man must prove himself.

“It’s another example of male adolescent violent posturing,” said McBride, who described his husky client as “a boy in a man’s body.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Craig McKinnon disagreed.

“It boils down to a simple case of hatred,” McKinnon said. Raines “had a dark evil side, a hatred, a hatred of homosexuals that boiled over and exploded like a volcano.”

Raines’ parents refused to comment after the sentence.

One teen-ager who said he attends church with Raines said Raines did not deserve a harsh sentence because he is “a very kind and caring person. He is a real humane person who didn’t hate homosexuals.”

Gay rights activists, who had feared the defendants’ guilty pleas would result in lenient terms, praised the sentences handed down by Dickey.

Such concerns had prompted Laguna Hills attorney Eric P. Lampel, who has no direct involvement in the case, to organize a campaign that ultimately produced more than 3,000 letters to Dickey demanding maximum sentences for the two defendants. Letters came from as far away as New York, and a letter from the Laguna Beach City Council was included.

But Dickey responded by asking prosecutors to consider charging Lampel with the misdemeanor crime of improperly seeking to sway the judge’s decision. Prosecutors said Friday they have not completed their inquiry into that matter. Lampel, who did not attend the hearing, said in a telephone interview that he believes the sentence sends the appropriate message.

“People need to know that this kind of behavior is not acceptable in Orange County,” he said.