4 girls get probation in hate-crime trial

Four girls convicted in the Long Beach hate-crime trial were sentenced to probation and house arrest Monday, as a judge ignored a prosecutor’s pleas for three of them to be confined in a youth camp.

Judge Gibson Lee has now given the same sentence to eight of the nine black youths convicted of beating three young white women on Halloween night. The remaining girl, a college student who was 17 at the time of the attack, is scheduled to be sentenced this morning.

“What’s sad is each kid’s getting the exact same thing, without looking at their conduct on Halloween, at their conduct throughout their entire life and whether or not they got on the stand and lied,” said Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Brian Schirn, who supervised the case.

Schirn was referring to Anthony Ross, 18, who testified that he did not take part in the attack, but was found guilty by the judge of doing so. The line prosecutor in the case, Deputy Dist. Atty. Andrea Bouas, cried Friday when the judge allowed Ross to go home on probation and 60 days of house arrest.

The attack on a residential street in the Bixby Knolls area left one woman with multiple facial fractures and another with a concussion. Ten youths were arrested that night for taking part in the beating. They maintained they were there, but not among the assailants. After a contentious two-month trial muddled by contradictory testimony, nine were found guilty of the assault -- eight with a hate-crime sentencing enhancement.

Bouas on Monday asked for time in camp for three of the girls and probation for the fourth, who was doing fine in school and had no record of fighting. Judges are to take into account a juvenile’s family life, social behavior and school performance when determining a sentence.

Lee sentenced all to probation, with 60 days of house arrest and 250 hours of community service. He also ordered them to undergo anger management therapy and enroll in a racial tolerance program.

He told a 14-year-old girl -- who had poor grades, a string of suspensions for fighting and had once run away from home -- that she, like the others, was now a ward of the court. The judge can send her to the California Youth Authority if she slips up.

“If there’s a continuation of problems, a continuation of fighting

Judges in Juvenile Court are expected to find the least restrictive sentence that will rehabilitate the minor while protecting public safety, tightening up the penalties if the child continues to act improperly.

The father of another 14-year-old girl -- the one with good grades and no record of fighting -- said he didn’t understand how his daughter got the same sentence as some defendants with more problems.

He said he was elated to have her home after she had spent 98 days in Juvenile Hall. The man said his daughter had just met the friends she was with on Halloween, and that night was the first time he had let her out of the house.

“I wouldn’t wish this on any parents,” he said. “There’s no amount of money anyone could pay me to take my child away for 98 days.”

The other two minors sentenced Monday were a 17-year-old girl who is a nationally recognized track runner and her 13-year-old sister. Bouas asked for the maximum of nine months in camp for each. The runner was accused of punching one of the victims and banging her head into a tree. The 13-year-old was accused of kicking another woman in the back of the legs and punching her in the back of her head.

Bouas compared the 13-year-old to the smart, popular and ruthless characters in the movie “Mean Girls.” She said the teen had good grades and bad behavior, including gang ties.

Photos on the girl’s page of MySpace.com, a social networking website, showed her and her younger brother flashing the sign of the Baby Insane Crips gang, the prosecutor argued, as well as lingo that included the words “Baby Insane.”

“The sign I see is a thumbs up,” her attorney, Barney Goldstein, argued. “I hope I don’t get shot by somebody if I give them the thumbs up.”

Bouas responded: “The title [of the photo]: My little bad brother.”

“Seven-year-old brother, I might add,” Goldstein interjected.

Bouas has said that the Baby Insane Crips were behind the destruction of a witness’ car, in an apparent act of intimidation.

Lee, in sentencing the sisters to the same program as the others, said: “Gang activity while on probation is a straight ticket to the California Youth Authority. A word to the wise.”

joe.mozingo@latimes.com