A Black teenager was left with a concussion, chipped tooth and several other abrasions after a bunch of teenage boys attacked him in a Simi Valley car parking zone whereas shouting racial slurs, authorities mentioned.
5 boys, all ages 16 and 17, have been charged Friday in reference to the assault, in accordance with the Ventura County district lawyer’s workplace.
Three of them face particular allegations of a hate crime, authorities mentioned.
The incident was captured on video. The recording exhibits the teenagers ganging up on Michael Robinson, 18, in a Regal Cinemas car parking zone round 11 p.m. on Aug. 1.
The boys may be seen throwing punches and heard saying the N-word as they chase Robinson across the lot. Two different victims have been additionally harmed within the assault, prosecutors mentioned.
Robinson informed Fox 11 Los Angeles that the group first focused his associates after which turned on him, slamming him into the hood of a automobile, pushing his head right into a trash can and repeatedly punching him at the back of the pinnacle.
“Actually, I assumed I used to be going to die,” he informed the station.
The incident sparked outrage throughout the Simi Valley group, with a number of residents calling on police to analyze it as a hate crime throughout an Aug. 4 Metropolis Council assembly. The Ventura County department of the NAACP urged an unbiased inquiry into the assault.
One of many 5 alleged attackers is the son of a Simi Valley police sergeant, in accordance with division spokesperson Ryan Morton. The boy’s father was not a part of the legislation enforcement response to the assault and isn’t concerned within the investigation, Morton mentioned.
Morton mentioned that the Aug. 1 incident was linked to a earlier altercation between the identical two units of teenagers. Two of the alleged attackers have been additionally charged for one more altercation in the identical car parking zone on Might 30.
“He [Robinson] was hunted down, and it was very disgusting,” Robinson’s guardian, Brittany Martin, informed Fox 11. “This isn’t the primary time that these children are literally doing this.”
Three of the alleged attackers have been charged with felony assault and particular allegations of a hate crime, prosecutors mentioned. A fourth was charged with felony assault, misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor legal threats, whereas a fifth was charged with misdemeanor threats and misdemeanor battery.
None of their names have been launched, as they’re all minors.
They’re all scheduled to be arraigned on the Ventura County Juvenile Justice Middle in Oxnard on Oct. 10, prosecutors mentioned. The courtroom can be open to the general public for instances involving the 4 teenagers with felony fees, prosecutors mentioned.
“Hate crimes unfold concern, division and violence all through a whole group,” Ventura County Dist. Atty. Erik Nasarenko mentioned in an announcement. “Our workplace is dedicated to holding these youths accountable and making certain that justice is delivered for the victims and our group.”
Simi Valley Mayor Dee Dee Cavanaugh referred to as the video of the assault “heart-breaking.”
“We prolong our assist to Michael, his household, and all in Simi Valley who’ve been impacted by this hateful and traumatic incident,” she mentioned within the Aug. 7 assertion. “Let me be clear: Violence, harassment, racism, discrimination, the usage of racial slurs, and gang-related exercise don’t have any place in Simi Valley.”
