bird rock bandits trial

A San Diego Superior Court jury found a member of the so-called Bird Rock Bandits guilty of second-degree murder Tuesday in the fatal beating of a professional surfer in La Jolla in a high-profile case that had attracted national attention.

Seth Cravens, 22, was convicted in the 2007 death of Emery Kauanui, 24, who died from brain injuries several days after suffering what prosecutors described as a sucker punch to the face thrown by Cravens.Cravens, 23, was found guilty Nov. 18 of second-degree murder and other charges in the death of Emery Kauanui, 24.

Cravens faces a possible sentence of 25 years to life in prison. San Diego Superior Court Judge John S. Einhorn scheduled sentencing for Jan. 12.

Cravens sat back in his chair and alternately gazed up and then down as the verdicts were read to a packed courtroom that included Kauanui’s mother and Cravens’ father, but otherwise showed no emotion. Later, as the jury was leaving the courtroom, he shook his head slightly.

Kauanui died in a hospital four days after he and Cravens got into a fight in front of Kauanui’s La Jolla home on Draper Avenue around 1 a.m. on May 24, 2007. Cravens and four other men had gone to the home, intent on retaliation, after Kauanui had spilled beer on one of the men earlier in the evening at the La Jolla Brew House and the two got into an argument.

Cravens punched Kauanui once in the jaw during the fight. Kauanui was knocked to the ground and suffered a fractured skull. The jury concluded that Cravens was guilty of “implied-malice murder,” which means that Craven’s was aware that his actions were dangerous but acted anyway.He was also convicted of four counts of assault by means likely to cause great bodily injury and one misdemeanor battery, stemming from earlier offenses.

Meanwhile Bonnie Dumanis Presents Citizens of Courage Award to Jennifer Grosso It takes a lot of courage for victims of crime to stand up and demand justice. Thursday some of them were honored with the 20th Annual Citizen's of Courage Award, including one woman who stood up to the men who murdered her boyfriend.Jennifer Grosso is a study in courage. When the Bird Rock Bandits attacked and ultimately killed her boyfriend, she attempted to break up the fight. When it came time for the trial, she became the sole witness against all the of the gang.

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