OJAI : 2 Youths Charged With Racial Assault
Two Ojai teen-agers have been charged with misdemeanor assault for the April 8 beating of a 14-year-old boy near Matilija Junior High School, prosecutors said.
The youths, both 17, face up to six months in jail for the alleged battery, which law-enforcement officials have described as racially motivated.
The boy, a white Matilija student, was walking home from school when seven Latino youths yelled threats from their car, Sheriff’s Cmdr. Joe Harwell said.
“They told the kid, ‘You better run,’ ” Harwell said. When the boy didn’t run, the youths allegedly jumped from the car and punched and kicked him. Witnesses said one assailant yelled “Brown power!” before striking the boy, Harwell said.
None of the youths knew the victim, who was treated for minor injuries, Harwell said.
“This boy was knocked to the ground and kicked in the head at least once,” Harwell said. “There appears to be no motive other than the racial remarks that were made.”
Four suspects, a 14-year-old Matilija student, two Nordhoff High School students ages 15 and 17, and a 17-year-old student at Chaparral continuation school, were questioned the next morning and released.
Two youths were charged with assault this week, Deputy Dist. Atty. John Cardoza said. Arraignment has not been set.
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