13-Year-Old’s Lawyer Argues Self-Defense

A 13-year-old pitcher accused of murdering an older teenager with a baseball bat at a Palmdale Pony League game last spring acted in self-defense, after the much bigger 15-year-old victim had bullied and repeatedly shoved him, a defense lawyer argued Wednesday.

At the time of 15-year-old Jeremy Rourke’s death, he stood 5-foot-10 and weighed 190 pounds, towering over the 5-foot-1, 90-pound defendant, attorney William McKinney said.

“We have a minor who’s [much] shorter and weighing 100 pounds less,” said McKinney, on the opening day of the murder trial in Lancaster Juvenile Court. “The minor acted in self-defense.”

Four of the boy’s former Pony League teammates, however, testified for the prosecution. They said the bigger teenager had pushed his attacker. But then the 13-year-old retrieved an aluminum slugger from an equipment bag, removed a protective sock and pulled back his arms to swing at the other boy, witnesses said.

“He said, ‘Move out of the way. I’m going to hit this fool,’ ” testified a 14-year-old who had been standing nearby -- along with dozens of other horrified children and their parents -- the night of the April 12 assault.

The 13-year-old whacked Jeremy in the knees, the teammates said, before clubbing him in the face. The victim was pronounced dead a short time later.

The teenage boys showed little emotion during their testimony and mostly avoided eye contact with their former pitcher, sitting at the defense table in a baggy white T-shirt, occasionally fidgeting and hanging his head. The accused boy’s name is being withheld because he is a minor.

Farther back in the courtroom, Jeremy’s family watched with reddened eyes. Another row was packed with the defendant’s family. Both sides declined to comment.

Prosecutors are asking Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Richard Naranjo to find the boy guilty of second-degree murder because he used deadly force against the victim. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of confinement at a juvenile detention center until age 25. He cannot be tried as an adult under California law because of his age.

In court Wednesday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Lonnie Felker referred to Jeremy as a “class clown” who teased the 13-year-old about losing a game.

The 13-year-old boy’s team, the Angels, had an 8-0 winning record until it lost that night to the Dodgers, the worst-ranked team in the league of 13- and 14-year-olds.

In the snack bar line, Jeremy said to the 13-year-old: “Awww ... you suck!” according to another 14-year-old. Names of underage witnesses are being withheld at the request of the court because the trial involves a juvenile defendant.

The pitcher told Jeremy to back off, saying: “Don’t mess with me, I’m not in the mood,” according to the witness. “Jeremy then shoved [the boy] and said, ‘What are you going to do about it?’ ”

“Then Jeremy shoved him again,” the witness said.

After that, the 13-year-old walked toward a navy bag a few feet away and pulled out a black and yellow bat.

“He swung it ... at the leg,” the witness said. “He swung it at his head. I just saw Jeremy fall.”

Outside the courtroom, McKinney said his client was a good student who had never been in trouble with the law. The lawyer intends to call witnesses today -- and possibly put his client on the stand -- to show that the victim had a history of being mean to others.

The defendant is black and Jeremy was white, but McKinney said race did not play a role.

Jeremy “was basically a bully -- everyone knew that in the Pony League,” McKinney said. “There’s no winners in this case. Everyone’s a loser. A young man’s dead.”