VENTURA : Judge Orders Youths Be Kept in Custody

A Ventura County Juvenile Court judge ruled Friday that three youths charged with provoking a fight that led to the fatal stabbing of their 14-year-old companion must be kept in custody while awaiting a Nov. 5 pretrial hearing.

The three juveniles--ages 12, 14 and 16--are accused of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit assault, and a special allegation that the crime was committed in association with a street gang.

Prosecutors said they will argue during a Nov. 14 hearing that the oldest of the three should be tried as an adult.

The charges against the three stem from a fight in early October at Grant Park in Ventura that ended with the fourth member of their group, Ricardo Hernandez, being fatally stabbed.

Eric Jones, 19, stabbed Hernandez, but will not face charges because the district attorney has ruled that he acted in self-defense.

Ventura police say Hernandez and the other three youths started the fight after an angry exchange of words with Jones and three others.

The public defender had requested that each be released to their parents for 24-hour home supervision, but Deputy Dist. Atty. John Vanarelli argued that the severity of the charges and the youths’ connections to the Ventura Avenue Gangsters warranted detention.

“They were the aggressors in this incident, and it resulted in the death of a 14-year-old boy,” Vanarelli said. “The possible harm that could come to these minors, or others, if they are released leads me to request that they remain in detention.”

Judge Robert J. Soares agreed with Vanarelli and ordered the youths held without bail at Ventura County Juvenile Hall.