Judge Again Continues Arraignment in Westlake Shooting Case : Courts: Defendant John Yi, 17, of Thousand Oaks is granted second two-week continuance this month.

More than six months after three Westlake High School students were shot in a brawl, the case against the defendants hit a new delay Wednesday.

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And the latest snag triggered a charge from the mother of one of the victims that the slow-moving justice system is preventing the injured from returning to normal lives.

“It’s ridiculous, it really is,” said Kathryn Behling, mother of 17-year-old David Behling, who was shot in the back of the head. “These kids can’t get on with their lives.”

In Ventura County Superior Court on Wednesday, Judge Bruce A. Clark continued the arraignment of defendant John Yi of Thousand Oaks. It is the second two-week continuance this month that has been granted to Yi, 17.

Yi told the judge that he needs more time to raise money to pay his private lawyer.

Charged with four felony counts, including assault with a firearm, Yi has declined the judge’s offer of court-appointed legal counsel. William T. Graysen, Yi’s attorney, said Wednesday he expects to be rejoining the case soon.

But Yi’s financial dilemma is just one in a string of delays in the case--which entered the judicial system in Juvenile Court before being moved to adult court.

Other delays in the case have been prompted after defense attorneys disqualified two judges from holding pretrial hearings.

And one of the four defendants caused several court hearings to be postponed after he disappeared. James Lee, 16, of Thousand Oaks, is believed to have gone to Taiwan, his homeland, to avoid prosecution, authorities said.

The four defendants were charged after a melee at North Ranch Park near the high school on Feb. 3.

According to court testimony, Lee and football player Curtis Simmons agreed to meet at the park for a fistfight to settle a dispute. Lee, the other three defendants and other supporters allegedly emerged from five different vehicles and announced: “We’re the Asian Mafia.”

By late April, all four boys were ordered to stand trial as adult co-defendants. But Lee skipped out on his $5,000 bail shortly thereafter.

Clark heard the preliminary hearing and ordered Yi and defendants Oubansack (Andy) Sonethanouphet, 16, and William Huang, 17, to stand trial.

Sonethanouphet, of Brea in Orange County, and Huang, of Rowland Heights in Los Angeles County, were given Sept. 9 trial dates.

But Yi was never arraigned and given a trial date. At the Aug. 3 hearing, Yi made his first request to delay his arraignment for two weeks, until Wednesday, so he could come up with the cash to pay his lawyer.

Kathryn Behling said that she understands the many delays considering there are multiple defendants in the case.

But she said the wait is especially infuriating considering so many other cases have been settled or seem to be moving along well during the same time. For instance, she noted that Phillip Hernandez--a Simi Valley eighth-grader who fatally stabbed a 14-year-old classmate two days before the Westlake brawl--has already been tried and sentenced.

“And it seems to be going pretty fast for O.J. Simpson,” the mother added of the high-profile Los Angeles murder case.

As to the condition of her son, who was away with a church group and not available for comment Wednesday, she said he spent five days in the hospital after being shot in the back of the head at the park.

He continues to suffer from headaches, but will still try to play football his senior year, she said.

“We’re still trying to cure the headaches, and he still has some vision impairment. Not enough to keep him down,” she said.