Fourth Student Arrested in Assault

A fourth Littlerock High School student has been arrested by sheriff’s investigators in connection with an assault of a 22-year-old man believed related to the beating death of an 18-year-old man the same evening, authorities said.

The 22-year-old victim was allegedly beaten moments after 18-year-old Christopher O’Leary was allegedly ambushed by at least two Littlerock football players at a May 19 party. O’Leary, who was picking up his girlfriend at the party, later died from his injuries.

The fourth person arrested in relation to the incident, a 17-year-old boy, is also a member of the school’s football team, according to Det. Steven Lankford of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He joins fellow football players Richard Newton, Marcus Raines and Rodney Woods, all 17 and from Palmdale, who have been arrested in the attacks.

Newton, Raines and Woods, who are star athletes, also face murder charges in O’Leary’s death. The three teens will return to court Tuesday, and a judge may decide whether to accept a petition from prosecutors to try them as adults.

The fourth boy, whose identity is being withheld, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and hasn’t been formally charged, said a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles district attorney.

Lankford said while the victim has not identified any of the suspects, investigators made the arrest based on accounts by witnesses.

The fourth suspect wasn’t involved in the first attack, Lankford said, but according to witnesses, the second victim--a friend of O’Leary’s--questioned the four youths about the fight. The man allegedly was hit with at least one punch by the fourth teen before running down the street. All four youths chased the victim down and beat and kicked him, Lankford said. Friends of the second victim came to his rescue and stopped the fight before sheriff’s deputies arrived, he added.

The man, who suffered injuries to his shoulders and face, came forward days after the beating because he feared retaliation, Lankford said.

“You can tell he was beaten pretty badly,” Lankford said. “He didn’t even go to the doctor’s at first. He was definitely scared.”