2 Sentenced in Murder of Teen Killed by Paint Roller

The highly charged trial of two young men accused in the 1993 killing of Steve Woods concluded Friday when the pair were sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison. But the ending of the trial brought about little solace to anyone.

The victim’s mother, Kathy Woods, stormed from the chamber during testimony from witnesses that defendants Saul Penuelas, 21, and Rogelio Solis, 20, deserved leniency because they were good boys who showed bad judgment one night by getting involved in a fight that spun out of control.

“What happened to my son is a great example of what they have been taught,” she yelled as she left the room.

Woods, 17, was in the passenger seat of a friend’s Chevrolet Suburban when a paint-roller pierced his skull during a confrontation on Oct. 15, 1993, between two groups of young people at Calafia Beach County Park in San Clemente. He died 25 days later.

The two defendants, among six charged in the attack, said they threw rocks during the confrontation but never intended to kill anyone.

Although it was never proved who threw the paint roller, the prosecutions contended that all of the defendants were responsible for Woods’ death because they joined in and acted together to hurl beer cans, wood chunks and other items at Woods and his friends.

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Solis and Penuelas were convicted last June of nine felonies including second-degree murder and multiple counts of assault on the other youths. The jury also concluded the incident was gang-related.

During Friday’s sentencing, the Woods family scoffed repeatedly at those who sought to cast of Solis and Penuelas in a positive light, muttering under their breath their belief that the two were gang members.

Penuelas has admitted membership in a San Clemente gang, while Solis contended that he was merely hanging out with friends he had grown up with. Neither had previous criminal convictions.

Even when Penuelas and Solis apologized to the Woods family for their role in the tragedy, one of them snapped: “I don’t believe you.” Another called them liars.

The anger on Woods’ side of the courtroom stood in sharp contrast to the sorrow on the defendants’ side. Many of them, who cried silently during the proceeding, sobbed openly as Penuelas and Solis exited the chamber.

“This is not justice,” wailed Solis’ mother, who would not give her name.

Outside the courtroom, the defendants’ families held hands and prayed for their children and for the spirit of Steven Woods.

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The racial overtones of the trial drew Amin David, president of the Latino advocacy group Los Amigos of Orange County, to many of the hearings including Friday’s, during which he accused authorities of calling for extra security because much of the crowd was Latino.

Barbara Coe, founder of the Orange County branch of California Coalition for Immigration Reform, which co-sponsored Proposition 187, sat with the Woods family at the sentencing. She became involved, she said, because many of those arrested in the melee were illegal immigrants, even though the public defender’s office said that is not the case with these two.

At the time of the crime, Solis and Penuelas were each 17 but were tried as adults.

Two other juvenile defendants, including Penuelas’ younger brother, were convicted of second-degree murder as adults and sentenced to the California Youth Authority. An adult defendant was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison on his second-degree murder conviction and a sixth defendant pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

In trying them as adults and sentencing them to state prison, Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard Luesebrink took the unusual step of ignoring the recommendation of the probation officer who concluded that both Penuelas and Solis demonstrated they could be rehabilitated and should serve their sentence at the California Youth Authority.

Penuelas’ attorney, David Dworakowski, argued for the judge to uphold the evaluation from the probation officer, contending the crime was a fluke.

“Is this a case where the defendants have criminal behavior in their background? No. It was an unusual set of circumstances that came together,” Dworakowski said.

Luesebrink, however, reminded the defendants that it could have been worse. The judge chose to strike the gang enhancement of the offense, even though the jury determined the crime was gang-related. Had it been retained, it could have put them both in state prison for a minimum of 15 years without the possibility of parole.

“The viciousness of the crime makes it inappropriate to send them to the California Youth Authority. But they do not have prior criminal records,” Luesebrink said.

Under Friday’s sentence, both will be eligible for parole after they serve two-thirds of their 15-year terms.

Solis’ attorney, however, said she felt the sentence was too harsh.

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“He picked up a rock because he was angry. Is that a reason to send someone to state prison? Maybe if he picked up a gun and used it in anger,” said defense attorney Shirley McDonald.

McDonald speculated that the decision was made because of the highly charged climate created by the Woods family.

They threatened to start a recall campaign against Superior Court Judge Everett Dickey, who sentenced two other defendants in the case to the California Youth Authority rather than state prison.

“I think the judge made a compromise,” McDonald said. “I think it would have been different had there not been those recall threats, the media coverage and the pressure from the Woods’ family.”

Prosecutor Elizabeth Henderson said that a lengthier sentence was appropriate to give Solis and Penuelas more time to be rehabilitated and would serve as a deterrent to other gang members.

“This is the only way we are going to be able to protect our society,” Woods said.