Men Described as Skinheads Arrested in Attack at Market

Six men described by authorities as skinheads who wore steel-toed boots were arrested early Sunday, moments after they allegedly walked into a supermarket and attacked three employees in what officials were calling “random violence.”

The employees of Ralphs, who ranged in age from 31 to 46 and were all believed to be white, suffered injuries that include a broken nose, black eyes, injured ribs and cuts and bruises, said Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Charles Walters. None of the injuries were considered serious.

“It was random; there doesn’t appear to be any other explanation for it,” Walters said.

The suspects were arrested shortly after the 3 a.m. incident when deputies saw their van leave the market, Walters said.

All six were held on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, in part because they were kicking the victims with their boots, according to Sheriff’s Lt. Fred Lisanti.

The attack remains under investigation, but Lisanti said neither robbery nor race appears to have been a motive. He said the suspects confronted the employees, whose names were not released, upon entering the store.

“I don’t know what preceded the assault,” Lisanti said. “At this point, it appears just to be random violence.”

The suspects include three adults, Victor Romaero, 23, of Anaheim; Joshua Aardema, 18, of Laguna Niguel; and Travis Miskan, 18, of Murietta. The three juveniles--a 16-year-old from Long Beach, a 16-year-old from Temecula and a 17-year-old from Murietta--were arrested and taken to Orange County Juvenile Hall.

Aardema’s roommate, Chris Devenney, said Aardema graduated in June from Dana Hills High School and is not a skinhead.

“This doesn’t sound like Josh. He’s no skinhead; he’s a surfer,” said Devenney.

Devenney said he also knows Miskan, but does not think he is a skinhead either. “I’ve never seen him get into a fight,” Devenney said.

The manager of the market, Susie Miller, declined to comment on the attack and referred all calls to the corporate offices of Ralphs Grocery Co., which were closed Sunday.

The attack is the latest in Orange County involving young men described as skinheads for their closely cropped hair.

In Newport Beach last month, four alleged white supremacists were arrested after what appeared to be a racially motivated attack on a Latino man who was fishing on the Balboa Pier. Last February in Huntington Beach, a 20-year-old Native American man was stabbed 27 times by a skinhead, authorities said.