MISSION VIEJO : Attack at Party Probed as Hate Crime

Authorities are investigating a weekend stabbing and beating of a black teen-ager as a possible hate crime, an assault that the victim’s stepfather characterized Monday as “planned” attack based on race.

Ruben Vaughn, 15, of Tustin remained hospitalized Monday at Children’s Hospital at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center with a broken jaw and nose and puncture wounds to the back, legs and upper torso.

Vaughn and a white friend were assaulted when they showed up where a group had gathered Friday night for a party in Portola Hills, Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Martini said.

At least two people among the group of 25 to 30 took part in the attack, Martini said.

Vaughn was beaten and stabbed with an unknown weapon and his 16-year-old friend was punched and sprayed with a chemical, Martini said.

Someone in the group reportedly shouted a racial slur during the attack, Martini said.

“There was a comment made by someone with a racial component,” he said. “Whether this was based as a hate crime--that’s one of the components of the investigation.”

Martini said a 16-year-old Lake Forest boy, who is white, was taken into custody, and authorities were seeking another youth, described as Asian.

Investigators have not determined the motive for the attack, which took place on Live Oak Circle about 9 p.m.

Martini said the group apparently had assembled for a party.

But Vaughn’s stepfather, Melvin Aaron, told a news conference at the hospital that his stepson had been lured to a “phantom party” and that he was “isolated from the group and singled out” as a target.

The site of the attack, a dark cul-de-sac, was “perfect for such a crime to occur,” said Aaron, 44, a Cal State Long Beach professor.

Aaron said that Vaughn had been involved in three verbal and physical incidents at Santa Margarita High School in which race was involved in the past year, and “I don’t feel the school’s response has been appropriate.”

Vaughn, a sophomore at Santa Margarita High, is described as a popular student and standout football player who cracked the starting lineup in his freshman year.

“Ruben’s a great kid, well-liked in the school and a real nice kid,” said Rich Schaaf, the school’s athletic director. “He’s a good addition to the school.”

Schaaf said accounts were untrue that senior teammates had resented Vaughn for starting as a tight end and linebacker in his first year.