Victims’ Son Apparently Arrested in Cross-Burning

When David and Barbara Shostak found a wooden cross in flames on their front lawn in Huntington Beach, their neighbors and other community members rallied against the apparent hate crime that targeted the Jewish family, sending flowers and mailing homemade cards.

In recent weeks, the pain of that May 19 incident has deepened with the arrest of four teenagers, apparently including the Shostaks’ 15-year-old son.

Attorney Marshall Schulman, who is representing the son and the family, said he believes the son may have been a victim of the other three teens.

“It’s extremely complicated, and we’re still looking into whether he was used by these other people,” the attorney said.

Schulman contends that his young client was not involved in the actual cross-burning, saying, “I’m sure he was as surprised as his parents when it happened.”

Yet the bizarre turn of events has only heightened the sympathies of a close-knit neighborhood for a family going through a difficult time.

The possibility of the son’s involvement “is a tragic twist to the whole story. If anything, this adds to the depth of pain we feel for the parents,” said Beth Mowll, who lives across the street.

Meanwhile, the district attorney’s office signaled its intent to prosecute the case against the oldest of the teens, 18-year-old Daniel Carr, as a hate crime, a special circumstance that can add to the sentence if a defendant is found guilty.

Carr and two 16-year-olds were arrested on suspicion of arson and burning a religious symbol. The 15-year-old was arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting, police said.

Rick Yates, a former police officer whose 16-year-old son is one of those arrested, said his son told him and Huntington Beach police that the victims’ son was upset with his parents and urged his friends to commit the crime.

But Schulman said the three other teenagers already had made plans on their own.

“All I know is that there was a cross they had that they wanted to burn at the beach, which, if nothing else, tells you something is cooking,” he said.

Yates said his family is devastated by his own son’s alleged participation. Though he does not condone the cross-burning, Yates said, he hopes the apparent arrest of the Shostaks’ son casts a different light on the incident.

The victims’ son does not believe in his father’s religion and is “doing anything he can to irritate his dad more,” Yates said. “Although they used the cross, that’s not what it’s about.”

Others, such as Rusty Kennedy, director of the Orange County Human Relations Commission, said that, regardless of the circumstances, the act remains a hate crime.

“The motive of the perpetrators still is consistent,” he said. Burning a cross on a Jewish family’s property “is specifically a message of hate.”

Joyce Greenspan, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, agreed, saying that such an act cannot be downplayed as teenage mischief.

“The point is, what’s a stupid prank and what’s letting a stupid prank get out of control,” she said. “We’re seeing too many youths lashing out in very dangerous ways.”

Kennedy concedes that some difficult personal issues are involved.

“Clearly, if the allegations are true, the family and the young man might want to seek some counseling,” he said.

Many in this quiet neighborhood simply hope the teenagers involved find the help they need.

“I think it’s a very painful situation for the parents--all the parents involved,” said Mowll. “Your heart just goes out to them. We all have kids, and this could have happened to us. I hope this incident will turn [the teens] around. If it does that, it could be a blessing in disguise.”

Times staff writers Marcida Dodson and Erika Chavez contributed to this report.