Six People Attacked Strobel, Witness Testifies

One of the teenagers involved in the deadly 1993 attack on Ventura High School student Jesse Strobel told a judge Tuesday that six young men--not three--jumped Strobel during a random assault that could have been motivated by robbery.

The testimony by 22-year-old Joel Contreras added a dramatic twist to the 7-year-old murder case.

Another eyewitness earlier testified that only three teenagers jumped Strobel after seeing him walking alone on a dark residential street near his midtown high school on Jan. 29, 1993.

But Contreras testified that six teenagers were involved in the late-night attack. And he identified Ryan Simas as one of the first to jump out of a car and chase Strobel, who fought back despite being outnumbered.

“I just remember a few guys grabbing him,” said Contreras, a Santa Paula High School student at the time. “[Simas] swung him around. Jesse Strobel hit me and I fell to the floor.”

Contreras said by the time he looked up, Strobel “was already down.” He was able to get up and run off, Contreras said, as the attackers climbed back into Simas’ car.

Prosecutors have charged Simas, a 24-year-old West Hollywood chef, with murder for his alleged role in the attack. They maintain Simas drove the carload of teens and later lied to police to throw their investigation off track.

On Monday, Tony Servin testified that Simas drove him, Contreras and Santa Paula teen Jose “Pepe” Castillo around Ventura that night. Servin identified Simas, Contreras and Castillo as the only ones who attacked Strobel.

But Contreras testified Tuesday that Servin, as well as two unidentified youths from Fillmore, also participated in the attack. He said the other youths were Simas’ friends who had been cruising with the group all night.

In addition to murder, prosecutors have alleged that the crime occurred during an attempted robbery.

But so far no witness called to testify at Simas’ trial in Ventura County Juvenile Court has solidly linked the 1993 assault to a failed robbery. Contreras said theft might have been a motive for the attack, but he wasn’t sure. And Servin provided no solid evidence about a possible motive for the attack.

The case is being handled in Juvenile Court because Simas was 16 at the time of the slaying. He faces more than a year in custody and a possible felony conviction, his lawyer said.

Strobel, a 17-year-old student athlete, died after being stabbed in the chest while trying to defend himself. He was found wounded and bleeding on a neighbor’s porch not far from the scene of the attack and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Contreras testified that none of the attackers knew Strobel. He said the teen’s identity remained a mystery until the media reported that he had died.

Contreras, who was granted immunity from prosecution for testifying against Simas, could not recall who initiated the fight--or why. He testified that he was unaware Strobel had even been stabbed until one of the teens--Castillo--announced it as the group drove to Santa Paula after the fight.

“I believe he said, ‘I got him,’ ” Contreras testified. “All of us acted the same way: mad, upset, worried.”

Castillo has since pleaded guilty to murder in the Strobel case, and admitted he was the one who wielded a knife. He is not expected to testify against Simas, however, because of his constitutional right against self-incrimination, lawyers said.

Contreras said he kept quiet for years about his role in the attack.

He said about a year after the incident, Simas instructed him to tell police that he had seen another Ventura High School student near the crime scene that night.

According to previous court testimony, that was the same story Simas had told Ventura police detectives when he was questioned two months after Strobel’s death. Prosecutors say Simas’ story was a lie to throw the investigation off the track.