White Supremacist Pleads Guilty in Stabbing : Court: The 17-year-old admits the attack on a black musician near the Ventura Pier was racially motivated. He could receive a 10-year prison sentence.

Scowling at times and later wiping tears from his eyes, a 17-year-old white supremacist pleaded guilty Friday to stabbing a black reggae musician and admitted the attack was racially motivated.

The plea could mean a 10-year prison sentence for Robert Reeves, who admitted his guilt without receiving any promise of leniency from either the court or the prosecution.

Outside court, Deputy Public Defender Todd Howeth said Reeves--being prosecuted as an adult--is sorry for his actions and agreed to plead guilty to spare the family of victim Kerry Leonard Boles the trauma of a trial.

Boles, 37, was stabbed in the abdomen Jan. 30 after being bombarded with racial epithets as he and a white woman sat near the Ventura Pier, officials said. Reeves ordered the couple from the area and then chased and stabbed Boles.

Boles, who was hospitalized after the incident, is recovering at home from the injury, Deputy Dist. Atty. Kim G. Gibbons said.

“Physically, I think he’s doing fine, (but) he’s been emotionally traumatized by this,” Gibbons said.

Besides pleading guilty to assault with a deadly weapon, Reeves also admitted special allegations that he inflicted great bodily injury and the crime was racially motivated.

Reeves initially was charged as a juvenile, but last month a judge ruled the teen-ager should be prosecuted as an adult because of the seriousness of the crime and the improbability he could be rehabilitated at the California Youth Authority.

Reeves’ attorney at the time denied the attack was racially motivated, saying the behavior was sparked by too much alcohol and stress and “severe family dysfunction.”

That argument was rejected by Superior Court Judge Steven Z. Perren, who called the stabbing “a pure unadulterated act of racial hatred.”

Reeves has numerous tattoos, including a swastika on his hand and the words “White Pride” on his upper arms.

He was on probation for an unspecified crime at the time of the stabbing. At an earlier court hearing it was noted that attempts to rehabilitate him in Juvenile Court had proven unsuccessful.

Reeves pleaded guilty at his arraignment in adult court. Several family members were in court as a show of support, including his mother, who cried quietly and clutched a young baby during the hearing.

The mother shook her head no when her son was asked by Gibbons if the crime was racially motivated. Reeves replied that it was.

Outside court, Gibbons said the prosecution offered Reeves “no deals whatsoever.” The teen-ager, who will be 18 in May, is scheduled for sentencing April 14.

Also outside court, Howeth said his client “wanted to acknowledge what he did was wrong and to accept responsibility for his actions.”

“He realizes he’s probably going to go to prison at a very young age,” Howeth said.

Reeves was told during the court session that he will not be given probation unless the sentencing judge decides this is an unusual case and does not warrant prison.

The teen-ager remains in custody at Juvenile Hall, with bail set at $250,000.