Slain Teen’s Mother Seeks Recall of Judge in Case : Crime: Protection is the issue, says woman whose son’s skull was pierced during a beach encounter. Two defendants went to Youth Authority instead of prison.

The mother of a teen-ager slain when a paint-roller rod pierced his head launched a recall drive Thursday against the judge who sentenced two teen-agers convicted in the killing to the California Youth Authority instead of state prison.

Kathy Woods of San Clemente, who considered the sentence too lenient, on Thursday morning handed Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey a notice of her intent to recall him. She also submitted a copy to the Orange County registrar of voters.

“Who is protecting us?” Woods asked. “I’m just trying to make a stand to let people see our kids are important.”

Dickey’s clerk said Thursday that the judge would not issue a statement. He has previously said that judicial codes prohibit trial judges from commenting on cases that are pending or being appealed.

The recall effort stems from an emotional case that started with a clash between two groups of youths at a San Clemente beach parking lot on Oct. 15, 1993.

Woods’ 17-year-old son, Steve, was in the passenger seat of a friend’s Chevrolet Suburban when the paint-roller rod pierced his skull during a clash with a group of teens who police and prosecutors say were gang members and their associates.

Six suspects were arrested and charged with murder in the killing.

Two of them, Hector Penuelas and Julio Perez Bonilla, were juveniles at the time but were tried as adults and convicted of second-degree murder. The judge sentenced Penuelas and Bonilla to California Youth Authority instead of lengthy terms in state prison. The Youth Authority must release the two, now 18, by the time they turn 25.

During the Jan. 13 sentencing, the judge cited the crime’s senseless nature but said the young defendants--who had claimed self-defense--had no prior record of violence and have learning and language disabilities that could be treated through educational and other programs offered through the Youth Authority.

A third man convicted in the case, who was an adult at the time of the crime, was sentenced by another judge to 26 years to life in prison. Three defendants in the case still await trial or sentencing before other judges.

Kathy Woods had announced her plan to try to recall Dickey after the judge announced the sentences for Penuelas and Bonilla, saying she was outraged that the teen-agers would not be going to prison. She noted Thursday that Dickey, who has been on the bench since 1974, has never been opposed for reelection.

“When I served the notice to Dickey and said I’m sorry it had to come to this, I was thinking how sad it is that I have to resort to this,” she said. “We have no deterrents.”

The judge now has seven days to submit a response that would be placed on the recall petition, Registrar of Voters Rosalyn Lever said. Once the recall petition is approved, the proponents will have 160 days to collect the signatures of 120,434 registered voters countywide to qualify the issue for an upcoming ballot, Lever said.