Youth Admits He Was Involved in Beating

A 17-year-old Ventura youth Tuesday admitted in court that he was involved in the beating of a 16-year-old Oxnard gang member earlier this month inside a Pacific High School classroom.

The admission marked the sixth plea deal in the case, according to Ventura County Deputy Dist. Atty. Miles Weiss. Last week, five Ventura gang members, ages 16 and 17, admitted their roles in the beating. Prosecutors will decide by Friday whether to file charges against a seventh youth.

Weiss said the teen in Tuesday’s hearing was a gang associate--but not a full-fledged member--who assisted in the attack.

On March 2, a 16-year-old rival of the suspects was beaten with a chair inside a satellite Pacific High classroom at the Ventura Boys & Girls Club, 1929 Johnson Drive.

The victim suffered a 2-inch gash on his head during the attack, which authorities described as a retaliation beating for a fight between the opposing gangs a few days earlier.

The teens each face up to four years in the California Youth Authority when they are sentenced in early April. The teens have each admitted to a single felony of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury.