WESTLAKE : Youths Likely to Be Tried Separately

Three defendants accused in a brawl that left a pair of Westlake High School students wounded probably will be tried separately, lawyers in the case said Wednesday.

The attorneys’ comments came after the last of the three defendants, John Yi, 17, of Thousand Oaks, pleaded not guilty to four felony charges.

The Feb. 3 shooting occurred during a melee that pitted one group that included Westlake football players against another that included the defendants.

Yi’s arraignment had been delayed twice as his family gathered money for the defendant’s legal bills. Attorney William T. Graysen, who represented Lee during the initial stages of the case but declined to appear with his client twice in August, was back at Yi’s side at Wednesday’s hearing.

“I’m with it until the end,” Graysen said outside court.

Graysen added that his client definitely will not be tried with the two other defendants in the case who are in custody.

Acting Superior Court Judge Bruce A. Clark set Yi’s trial for Dec. 15, while the trials for co-defendants Oubansack (Andy) Sonethanouphet, 16, and William Huang, 17, have been set for Sept. 12.

In an unusual request, Deputy Dist. Atty. John A. Vanarelli had asked to have three juries, all seated in the same courtroom, hear the case. Clark’s move to give Yi a different trial date indicates that will not happen, Graysen said.

Vanarelli declined Wednesday to discuss his three-jury proposal because the case is getting nearer to trial. But he said the three defendants would “most likely” have separate trials.