8th-Grader Is Convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter : Courts: Phillip Hernandez is found guilty of least serious homicide charge in the slaying of his 14-year-old classmate, Chad Hubbard.

A Simi Valley eighth-grader who fatally stabbed a 14-year-old classmate near a school bus stop was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Monday by a judge who expressed doubt that the boy intended to commit murder.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Allan L. Steele, acting as a Juvenile Court judge, decided that Phillip Hernandez was guilty of the least serious homicide charge, one that carries a maximum sentence of four years.

Prosecutors had sought a conviction on second-degree murder, which could have sent Hernandez, 14, to the California Youth Authority until his 25th birthday for the slaying of Chad Hubbard.

Hubbard--a popular member of the baseball team at Valley View Junior High--was stabbed in the chest just after classes Feb. 1 and died a short while later at Simi Valley Hospital.

Steele’s ruling came after nearly a full day of arguments by attorneys for both sides.

Deputy Public Defender Donna L. Forry said Hernandez should be convicted of no more than involuntary manslaughter, but also said an acquittal on grounds of self-defense could be justified.

“I still believe that, given the circumstances, what he did was reasonable,” Forry said.

Those circumstances, Deputy Dist. Atty. James D. Ellison argued in court, warranted a murder conviction.

Ellison declined to comment after the verdict. But a top official in the district attorney’s office expressed disappointment.

“We felt strongly that what occurred justified a second-degree murder finding, and that’s why we prosecuted it that way,” Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Kevin J. McGee said. “Obviously, the judge saw it differently.”

Forry expressed relief that her client escaped a murder conviction.

“In those respects, it is a victory for me,” she said.

Parents for both of the boys attended the two-week trial and were present when Steele announced his verdict. Both sides declined to comment as they left the courtroom, but in previous interviews, Hubbard’s parents faulted school officials for failing to provide adequate supervision.

Forry also argued in court that the incident might have been avoided had school authorities done a better job of handling a feud between Hernandez and Hubbard.

In response to the verdict, Simi Valley Supt. Mary Beth Wolford said district officials just want to put the whole incident behind them. She said district personnel will advise school officials on how to handle discussions of the verdict.

“Our main charge is to continue with the education of students and continue in the least disruptive manner,” she said. “. . . We need to move on.”

Diane Collins, a member of the Simi Valley school board, said the verdict did not surprise her because of information that emerged during the trial that Hernandez had been punched by Hubbard before the stabbing.

“It was a tragedy, but it did turn out to be different than we (initially) perceived it to be,” she said.

Witnesses--including nearly a dozen present and former Valley View students--testified about how the boys had a strong dislike for each other. They recounted numerous run-ins between the two, including pushing matches in the locker room and one occasion when Hernandez allegedly stole Hubbard’s baseball cap.

They testified that the dispute started a few weeks before the stabbing because Hubbard believed that Hernandez had called him a bad name.

On the day of the stabbing, Hubbard hounded Hernandez as the defendant walked to his bus stop after classes, witnesses testified. Attorneys on both sides agreed that Hubbard insisted on fighting and finally punched the defendant at least once--and maybe two or three times--before being stabbed.

Hernandez testified that he could not remember the stabbing because he blacked out after Hubbard punched him. The defense contended that Hernandez was only defending himself when he stabbed Hubbard, who was portrayed in court as the larger and stronger of two.

Forry also presented evidence that Hubbard had consumed alcohol prior to the stabbing and had a 0.06% blood-alcohol level. The legal limit to operate a motor vehicle is 0.08%.

The alcohol made Hubbard aggressive and irrational, Forry said.

Forry said Hernandez “endured the threats, endured the pushing, the prodding and then finally reacted.”

She said her client was backed into a corner because of the harassment he received from Hubbard and because no one helped him. “The school completely abandoned Phillip in this situation,” she said.

Ellison acknowledged from the start of the trial that Hubbard had started the fatal altercation. He argued, however, that Hernandez had no legal right to stab Hubbard.

He also pointed out to the judge that several witnesses had testified that Hernandez had promised to kill Hubbard if Hubbard continued to threaten him.

“This isn’t the kid who was backed into the corner and didn’t have anything else to do,” Ellison said. “His intent was to do just what he said: It was to kill Chad Hubbard.”

In announcing his ruling Monday, Steele said he did not believe Hernandez’s testimony. But he ruled that Hernandez did not voluntarily intend to kill his victim.

Sentencing is scheduled May 17.