THOUSAND OAKS : Judge Won’t Release 2 Held in Park Brawl

A Ventura County judge on Tuesday refused to release into the custody of their parents two out-of-county juveniles charged in connection with a brawl near Westlake High School that wounded three students.

Superior Court Judge Steven Z. Perren ordered the two 16-year-olds to remain locked up pending further proceedings.

One of the teen-agers is from Brea in Orange County and the other lives in Rowland Heights in Los Angeles County.

The two teen-agers, as well as two other juveniles from Ventura County, were charged after the Feb. 3 brawl in which the suspects and others jumped out of cars at North Ranch Park in Westlake and attacked a crowd of students, authorities say.

One of the defendants and a Westlake High football player were to meet at the park for a fistfight. Instead, authorities and witnesses said, the defendants emerged from their car and announced, “We’re the Asian Mafia.”

The defendants--all Asian--then attacked a crowd of students with bats, lumber and gunfire, investigators said. All the injured students have been released from local hospitals.

Arraignments for the four defendants are scheduled for Thursday morning before Perren. Prosecutors have asked that all be tried as adults.

Perren has ordered probation officials to investigate the background of each defendant to help him determine whether they should be tried in the adult system. Hearings on that issue will be held later.

An attorney for one of the teen-agers has said his client participated in the incident because he had been a victim of racial and physical harassment by the football player.

The player’s father denied that allegation.