Coach’s Case Ends in Mistrial

A jury deadlocked Friday in the case of an El Toro High School track coach accused of fondling student athletes, with some jurors saying the deliberations were marked by gross misconduct.

After hearing that the jury could not reach a verdict, Judge Leonard H. McBride declared a mistrial in what is the latest of several high-profile cases involving alleged molestations at local schools.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Scott Simmons, who prosecuted the one-month trial, expressed surprise at the outcome and said he has not yet decided whether to retry 51-year-old Vernon Brent Smith on 11 counts of lewd contact with minors.

Outside the Santa Ana courtroom, three jurors said they were disgusted by what they described as the inappropriate behavior of some of their peers.

Juror Eddie Pacheco, a truck driver from Aliso Viejo, said the panel had reached unanimous verdicts of not guilty on two counts. But three jurors changed their votes to guilty after they could not secure conviction on other charges.

“They did it out of vindictiveness, in a spiteful manner,” Pacheco said.

Jurors Richard Perez of Anaheim and Carmen Bunce of Dana Point agreed with Pacheco.

“I couldn’t believe that they would do that,” Bunce said.

Perez said some of the other jurors took the attitude that “I’m not going to let him go that easy.”

Smith is accused of fondling five of his athletes, girls ages 15 to 17, in 1996 and 1997 while he was assistant track coach at El Toro High School. The young women testified that Smith would touch them improperly while giving them massages or rubdowns.

Smith vehemently denied the charges when he took the stand Tuesday. He said he massaged some of his athletes to prevent and heal injuries and occasionally hugged them for support. But he stressed that nothing improper ever happened.

The mothers of two of his athletes were present at the courtroom Friday to lend the coach support. They said the charges were drummed up by parents who wanted to replace Smith as coach at the school.

“He’s an excellent coach, and he’s done nothing,” said Patricia Ciampa of San Clemente, whose 18-year-old daughter currently trains with Smith. “It is absurd to make these accusations.”

After the mistrial, Smith vowed to keep fighting. But he said he was disheartened by the prospect of yet another trial and worried about his mounting legal bills.

“They’ve already damaged my reputation,” he said.

A hearing to determine a new possible trial date is scheduled for Dec. 18.