Pub talk turns to another surfer who was attacked and this poor soul died. But it was not another shark attack. This time it was one or more persons who apparently killed Emery Kauanui Jr., a professional surfer. The initial arraignment for those charged was scheduled for Sept. 10.
Allegedly, four young men who the press have apparently labeled the Bird Rock Bandits (a local gang or group of friends depending on who you talk to) were accused of being responsible for the beating of Emery Kauanui Jr. on May 24 in La Jolla. Kauanui, 24, apparently died four days after the fight on May 28. Seth Cravens, 21; Eric House, 20; Matthew Yanke, 21; and Orlando Osuna, 22, are all initially charged in connection with the beating. All have pleaded not guilty. Initially, Kauanui and Eric House fought. But Seth Cravens apparently delivered the fatal blow to Kauanui after the fight between Kauanui and House had apparently ended.
The dispute began back at a night club. Genny Grosso, was an ex girl friend of Emery. She apparently asks him to go to the bar. When he does,Genny speaks to Eric House. Emery apparently got jealous and spilled a beer on Eric. (Whether it was intentional or accidental as reported by NBCSandiego.com is disputed.) The two young men are thrown out of the bar.
Kauanui left the club and was driven home by Genny. Cravens, Osuna, House and Yanke apparently followed Kauanui to his home. (Emery apparently called House or visa versa. Either way, a fight was arranged.)
When House arrived, he was encouraged to fight Kauanui. Kauanui came out of the house and by most accounts, Emery Kauanui beat Eric House in the fight. House lost one of his teeth. The fight apparently was over at that point. Hank Hendricks may have pulled Genny off of Kauanui and House when they were on the ground. Apparently as Kauanui and House were getting up off the ground, Cravens punched Kauanui. According to witnesses, the punch from Cravens apparently knocked Emery Kauanui into a tree. (Cravens has a reputation of being a real strong guy with a devastating punch.) Four of the young men left the scene. House remained at the scene looking for his tooth. Kauanui was taken to a hospital where it was initially thought that he would be okay. Unfortunately, Emery Kauanui's condition deteriorated and he died four days later. Criminal cases are still pending against all five young men. All but one of the five charged is out on bond. All five have plead not guilty.
Update 5-20-08 Preliminary hearings are determining whether there is enough evidence to try these young men as a gang. The comments below contain summaries of some of the testimony. Cravens may have been the only "gang want to be."
Update 6-21-08: Judge Einhorn decided on May 22, 2008 that these five did not constitute a criminal street gang. Like it or not, he is not going to change his mind. These five will be tried as individuals and not as a gang.
Legal Pub reminds everyone that all suspects are innocent until proven guilty. Until there is a trial, no one knows who, if anyone, is guilty.
Update 6-30-08: Eric House, 21; Orlando Osuna, 23; and Matthew Yanke, 21; plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and misdemeanor battery. Henri "Hank" Hendricks, 22, plead guilty to a felony of being an accessory after the fact. It is believed that the charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor. Seth Cravens, 22, re-entered a not-guilty plea after his attorney rejected a plea offer from prosecutors. Back in May, Judge Einhorn found the men could not be prosecuted under gang statutes because the group wasn't formed specifically to commit crimes.
May these young men learn from their mistakes and may Emery R.I.P.
Update 9-6-08: Co-defendants, Eric Matthew House, left, Hank Hendricks and Orlando Sandoval Osuna were sentenced on Friday, Sept. 5, 2008 in San Diego. The four have been sentenced to between 90 and 349 days in jail for their respective roles in the death of Emery Kauanui. Hank Hendricks sentence was the least do to his limited role. He will spend up to 90 days in jail. Hopefully these young men grow from this awful experience and that Emery Kauanui's death serves to educate others about the senselessness of violence.
Update 11-7-08: Mary Ellen Attridge, Cravens attorney argued that there was no evidence that the right-handed Cravens knew that one punch with his left hand could kill someone. Deputy District Attorney Sophia Roach argued that there was evidence of a group beating. She argued there was some evidence of kicking and hitting, that culminated in Kauanui being hit by "an incredibly forceful blow" to the head. Cravens is charged with voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. Closing arguments were held today.
Update November 18, 2008: Superior Court Judge John Einhorn read the jury's guilty verdict for most of the charges against Seth Cravens, including 2nd degree murder. Cravens will next appear at a sentencing hearing scheduled for January 12, 2009.
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259 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 259 of 259When ever a young man dies, feelings follow. Dragging this case out caused family and friends not to get closure. Whether H.H. was a saint or a sinner has nothing to do with the fact that he did not kill Emery. Assuming H.H. said lets get out of here or to that effect, it was bad judgment. But that did not kill poor Emery.
H.H. has paid an incredible price. In fact his sentence was harsher than almost any other individual in a similar situation. He has or will pay his price to society. But don't suggest that he has not suffered. Do not suggest that H.H. penalty was not severe enough. Seth killed Emery. Seth must live with both God's law and man's law.
Jenny is not a criminal. She is not to blame. But she needs time to heal and put things in perspective. Initially, I blamed H.H. But it was wrong. He was a bystander who hung around with the wrong crowd.
God bless those who loved Emery. Now it is time to heal.
J.J.
H.H. stood up and admitted his mistake like a man. Don't condemn him for what he did. Seth delivered the blow. No one else.
Legal Eagle 7
I want to chime in too. I know the facts. H.H. has been right fully punished. His role was very minor from what I have learned. In no way did he cause Emery's death.
Blame those who fought. Don't blame the sheep who stood and watched.
Law Man
I too offer my two cents. H.H. did the right thing by pleading. But quite frankly, had he fought the charges, all may have been dismissed. He did not know Emery was dead. He did not know Seth was going to hit him.
Kids do some dumb stuff. It does not make them all evil. My heart goes out to Emery's loved ones. He was a fun loving guy who was well liked. No one is an angel. If Emery had survived, he would have likely said no harm was intended by anyone that night.
God Bless those who cared so much about all involved in this case.
Law Dog
We know that we sound harsh at times , but what could we do facing all the accusations; HH killer, HH member of a gang, HH going to jail for life, HH going to " get it" in more ways than one and we will spare the ugliest, and uglier ;dont you think that there comes a time where we started to tell the truth and the truth sometimes sounds harsh and we know that you grieve and we do have a heart, we are sorry for what hapenned our lives will never be the same
we thank the lawyers who gave us hope and council , they were kind
and we all need kindness and you do as well
Our heart goes to Emery who should not have died for we are sure that he was a great kid and we partake in his mom and Jenny's grief as well as all his friends and he seemed to have many
We are sure that he is with God as a spoke about God often
Thank you legal eagle, thank you lawman, thank you legal dog and all the law men ; all of you who are so kind and fair : we love you and we will try to heal all of us together , holding our grief and our tears for what happenned and hope that a good tomorrow will come around for all of us; Emery, Jenny, Emery's mama ( we love you, we love Jenny as well ) HH suffered terribly from guilt even though he was just there , for his broken dreams and Emery's broken dreams
In psalm 23 by David we find
" even though he walked through the valley of the shadow of death, he feared no evil , because God is with him and he will live in the house of the Lord forever"Love is the key
This was truely a tragedy. No one intended anyone to die. No one deserved to die. Prices have been paid, lives forever changed. Now is the time to let go and heal.
Emery would not have wanted the hatred to continue.
We are all fragile right now as we spent 15 monts on top of mountains, deep valleys and dark tunnels, hanging on to our faith, the kindness of others
The most fragile are Emery's mom and Jenny and we hug them
Law man when you said that HH was a sheep did you mean that he was not courageous ? he had been these kiids quarter back and had gone away and when he came back they had a high school reunion celebration; he went because he was loyal to the past and was never proud or arrogant ; that night they had been drinking and i think that they all stood there in a stupor as it unfolded so fast
like a wirlwind
to you lawdog; do understand that Hank wanted to fight the chatges , but when the other three folded up and said " we accept a plea deal" he had to go along which shredded him as he knew that it was e death
knell to his career at UNH as a student and a football player as he accepted a felony charge ; it wrung him and his family and i remember that so well
So he did have the courage to stand up and fight HH is not a quiter. but he had to fold up and accept , there was no other choice
Jail was " fierce " he did not deserve "that" people in there were fierce and he stood to that
Emery has been avanged even with people who never touched him and now we will see what goes with Seth and we think that being the
13TH of 14 children may have been tough on him , he may have been badly handled by the older ones who knows? still no excuse to be punching his way around
Cravens guilty of 2nd deg murder and numerous other counts!
What does that mean to Seth life from nonw on?
What does that mean to Seth life from nonw on?
Seth is looking at some serious jail time. We should wait until the sentencing to know what he will get. However, if I were to guess I would say that he will serve 5 to 10 years.
Seth served two years and i understand that according to law it counts double ; like four years
His family is probably in pain and it hurts to think of Emery'a mom, Jenny's pain and Seth family
Yet one punch in the heat of battle is not a premeditated murder and he did have a past so did Emery, we are struggling with all that pain
Is judge Heinron the one who makes the decision ?
The public was so angry ; will that force him to be tougher ?
I am sure that this kid is going to see " the writing on the wall" once and for all
Judge Herron has guidelines for the sentence. He will determine the sentence based on a statutory guide. There will be a hearing on the sentence. It will be fair.
Wait for the hearing before there is speculation. Yes, if he behaves in jail he will recieve credit for time served. i.e.2.5 years equal 5; 5 years equal 10...
the end results all seem fair...
Yes anonimous " end results, all seems fair" but what does one do when there are still newspaper articles, bloggers who call the bystanders; killers, gangsters, mobsters etc
Are there laws for people like that who want to stick to their prejudice and hatred and who in spite of proofs and termination are still carrying on with their spite
Yes anonimous " end results, all seems fair" but what does one do when there are still newspaper articles, bloggers who call the bystanders; killers, gangsters, mobsters etc
Are there laws for people like that who want to stick to their prejudice and hatred and who in spite of proofs and termination are still carrying on with their spite
The bystanders all need to move on. Who cares what people say. It will all fade away, except for the loss of dear Emery. Take consolation in the fact that the others, including Seth will all return to normal lives. The family of Emery will forever grieve his loss.
We can learn to forgive... and you can learn to forget.
Thank you for putting our brains and hearts back into place, poor little Emery who looked so cute on his boy's picture will not get a second chance and his poor mom weeps that is so true
she seems like a sweet person and did not dserve that
We are in the camp of the bystanders and yet we love her for it would not be human not to love her and when we all " go up there"
hopefully one day we will see Emery
Our heart goes to her and may God help her recover from her grief
From those of us who loved Emery, thank you for the kind words.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
TO ALL OF YOU AS YOU WERE SO KIND TO US FROM VIPER TO LAW DOG AND TO " ALL OF YOU " who gave kind advise and " told the truth"
Legal Pub has a good group of readers and contributors. I am sure I speak for most when we say we are glad that things will all work out well for H.H. Even those of us who feel for Emery and his family realize that the H.H. was a very minor player in this whole incident.
God Bless both families...
Seth received twenty years to life, he did deserve a punishment but no one speaks of Emery in jail, Emery was a bully and broke parole he was the only one with a record
Now HH and the others are going back to court with Emery's mom who wants money but why did Emery s past never came to light?
Only a hero's profile
we feel that Seth sentence is overboard
Seth will likely serve 8 to 12 years depending on how well behaves. The victim's past history is not relevsnt. He is dead. Seth apparently sucker punched him.The sentence seems fair. The civil suit will be interesting, but not likely to generate any money for Emery's family.Furthermore, there should be no judgment entered against H.H.
Keep us posted.
Law Dog
they met in re of the case against the kids who were present at the scene where Emery died
it seems that emery's mom will not " let go" and wants money from all of them
we dont get it
she will not settle with the insurances, she wants more even from the innocents who never touched Emery
Give Emery's mom time to heal. She will likely come to her senses and settle with the insurers.
MOST OF THE TRUTH CAME OUT ON DATELINE NEWS ON MNSBC/ THE JOURNALIST NAME IS KEITH MORRISON THE SHOW LASTED TWO HOURS
WHAT CAME OUT
Jenny the girl friend say that
" she saw HH just standing there , removed from the fight, she did not even know his name"
Also something strange that we did not mention before is that HH had the tar beat out of him in jail before he testified for the defense as he was dressed in civilian clothes
We are asking" why did they do that?" his uncle who is a lawyer had to come and take him " out of harms way " why ?
Sponford the teacher from La Jolla high said " HH never gave us trouble , he was going somewhere; they called him " the swan " as an athlete at La Jolla high "
The police told HH to go back to college, because " he was not part of it" then three months later, they arrested him" why?
THE PROSECUTION DID NOT ASK THE JURY FOR A SENTENCE AGAINST HH YET THE JUDGE GAVE HIM 90 DAYS / WHY?
HH testified and said that Emery beat up Eric House to a pulp and Eric said " its over" Seth said
" its over" yet Emery came up to Seth face and cursed him and Seth seeing his friend covered with blood gave him a left hand punch"
Emery's body did not bear one trace of beating, only a cracked skull from falling ? THEY ALSO SAY THAT HE WANTED TO FIGHT
Now Emery's mom is after HH for the money part, why? wHAT IS PROMPTING HER?
We feel that all this is a little wacky
Answer us as you have in the past with honesty and knowledge and thank you ever so much
To all of you
Did the insurance company hire a lawyer for H.H.?
It is clear to me that if H.H. goes to verdict in the civil case, he has an excellent chance to win. Right now emery's mom is likely just pursuing insurance money. It is unlikely H.h. will have to pay anything out of his pocket.
H.H. needs to get on with his life. Finish school and move on.
Seth needs to spend some time in jail and realize he is on the wrong path.
The criminal case is done. The civil case will not last forever. H.H. needs to get his education and future in order. He did not cause Emery's death.
Law Dog
Thank you law dog you are so kind; Hank works for a very influencial man in La Jolla but he is still paying for the legal past of this affair and has no money in insurance as he pays out everything that he makes, he has nothing left after that
He is trying and taking his last seven units for a maths degree
bachelor of sciences/he is almost done with it / but what university will take him as a felon who went to jail, if he wants to pursue?
They broke his great talent as a quarter back that he loved, killed his reputation and now want his money
Jenny gave three versions of the truth, her karma might haunt her some day , many people in the know in La Jolla are talking about it we are not vindicative, but please , a man just killed a guy with a gun and they gave him
" unvoluntary manslaughter " we feel as its all surreal and we are all trying desperately to put it all behind us , specially HH MORE THAN ANY OF US but they cling to his back it seems
"Hank just stood there" Jenny said she did not even know his name as he lived near Doug Flutie for three years
What more can he do but do his best as usual but this last thing haunts him, he is not looking for it
He suffered hell behind bars with guys who were murderers, thank God his uncle who is a good lawyer came to his rescue and out of harms way
He is the kind of guy who gets up from the carpet and fights but really all this was too much for a guy who was standing there
( Jenny 's deposition) where could he go watching the mellee unfolding ?
Almost any school will let Hank finish his degree. He should select a school that fits. No employer is likely to hold this case against him. His story will be documented in the media.
Legal Eagle 3
thank you legal 3
wHERE IN THE MEDIA ARE THEY GOING TO PROTECT AND DEFEND HH
thank you so much
i am one of th people who blogs on your site, i am facing a criminal problem where do we go on your site in order to address this kind of problem?
Contact your local bar association. Each state has its list of licensed lawyers. Each county or major city in your state should have a local bar association. Start there with a phone call. A local lawyer in your state should be able to help you.
Also, Martindalehubbell.com is also a site that provides access to lawyers. Good Luck.
we have learned that Eemry was a coke dealer so his mom is suing people for bad behavior and bad parenting?
seth should have had maybe eight years but liFE?
many lies were told in this case and they allowed a bystander to be beaten to a opulp in jail?
Bad things can happen in jail. the good thing is that the jail experience is such that such a bystander will never do anything to place himself in such a situation as to ever return to jail.
As for Seth, he will not end up serving life. But he does deserve the 8 to 10 years that he will actually serve in prison.
the fault was not all Seth's fault but we did not like his comments about Nazis or antisemitism as we did know that war back then and there is no space for hate like that to exist after what happened
We have never posted anything unkind about emery or his mom
HH paid dearly by losing a scholarhip and going to jail for being there , being beaten up, he is young wih no money
yet emery's mom will not let go of him is she angry that he is a good boy or what ?
Give Emery's mom time to heal. She will likly realize that Hank wa not the cause of
Emery's death. Hank's offense was leaving the scene and choosing to be around Seth that night.
Things will work out. Hank needs to try to get on with his life. He has served his time.
Law Man
Thank you lawman, you are such a heart warmer! really, we love you
HH has grown as a person spritually and emotionally by leaps and has no hard feelings, he is very forgiving and is philosophy is " forgive" and lets get on with it the best way that we can
In an Eastern sense " life is a river" and we will never see that bridge again, so that we have to day and to morrow to go down that stream and paddle the best way we can
You are a great healer lawman
Thank you
Nothing will ever bring the dude back. Time to move on.
HH has been working as a dock worker in freezing Boston and he also has laid cables in the bay from cable boats showing that he took his plight like a man, he also followed the rules of the judgement to a " T" and behaved as usual like a prime citizen
He should be allowed to " get a life now "
Thanks for the update on Hank. Nothing will bring back Emery. As sad as Emery's death may be, Hank has paid his debt to society. It is time to let him move on with his life.
Hank Hendicks was free today to go back to college
Judge Heinron let him go as he worked on the freezing docks of Boston all winter and laid cables in the bay in freezing temperatures
He again proved that he was a man and a citizen
Thank you for your kind support always ; we"ll never forget you
Hank has been let go today by judge heinron he can go back to a normal life
Yeah! Hopefully he will now become a spokesman for making the right choices!
Best wishes to Hank and his grandparents!
Keep us up to date on our adopted cause, Hank. Good luck and stay in touch.
Hank is doing very well the way he always did and is finishing his degree : he works very hard as usual and keeps his nose to the grindstone
Thanks for the update. Hank apparently learned a lot from this incident and as a result perhaps he can help others avoid such incidents in the future. Keep us posted.
latest news : Emery's mother wants to drag Hank to court to take the money that he will make when his career takes off! enough is enough, she alredy killed his football career now she wants his " life" forever , i had sympathy for that woman , not anymore she is money greedy and vengeful, that she needs because her husband is in jail,Emery was also going to jail because he delt in drugs! please help us again you who have helped us in the past: i think that hank is " her victim" can we retaliate?
Typically, the home owners insurance company for Hank should be involved in any civil action. It is unlikely any punitive damage can be awarded since Hank served a criminal sentence. Consequently, if there is no insurance coverage, then Hank may want to consider bankruptcy. I suggest contacting a lawyer with experience representing debtors.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR KINDNESS / NO THEY HAVE LOOKED INTO EVERY AVENUE THAT'S AWFUL /THE DA/ THE MOTHER AND GIRL FRIEND HAVE A RAGE FOR HIM BECAUSE HE STOOD OUT LIKE THE GOOD BOY/ THEY JUST CLING TO THAT THING LIKE HUNGRY WOLVES/ HE HAS SUFFERED ENOUGH AS IT IS/ LET HIM BE/ I AM GENTLE BUT SUDDENLY I FEEL LIKE I AM GROWING TERRIBLE RESSENTMENTS IN MY HEART / THE GIRL FRIEND WAS ON TOP OF ERIC HOUSE WHO BLED LIKE MAD AND ON TOP OF EMERY WHO HAD BEATEN HIM TO A PULP AND GENNY THEW HER BODY ON TOP OF THE TWO OF THEM/ SHE WAS NOT STOPPING A FIGHT/ THE FIGHT WAS OVER SO THAT HANK REMOVED HER SO THAT THE TWO/ MEANING ERIC HOUSE AND EMERY COULD STAND UP/ THATS WHEN EMERY WENT TOWARD SETH SCREAMING INSANITIES AT HIM / HE HAD TAKEN DRUGS HE WAS INTO THAT RGE AND SETH GAVE HIM A LEFT PUNCH WHICH THREW HIM BACK TO HIS ACCIDENTAL DEATH/ HOW MANY MORE LIES ARE THEY GOING TO INVENT? THEY SAY THAT HANK WAS KICKING THE BODY WHEN HE WAS DOWN/ HE WAS NOT EVEN NEAR HIM / HNK HS GROWN SO MUCH / HE WAS ALREADY MATURE S A CHILD
THNK YOU WITH AMM MY HERT AGAIN
correction: thank you with all my heart
am i wrong to be upset ? i feel eough is enough for someone who is trying to be good citizen nd led n exemplary life s always
It takes a long time for folks to heal after the death of a loved one. Relax. It will all work out.
I know that they must suffer terribly and my heart goes to them totally but why punish an innocent becuse they are angry?
i went trough a terrible ordeal as someone tried to kill me for money where do i go for help?
IF ANYONE HAS THREATENED TO KILL YOU OR TRIED TO KILL YOU CONTACT YOUR LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT.
the person who tried to kill me is friends with the police, the mayor and the powers that be, where does one go then?
Go to your county prosecutor. If no action go to the State police. If still no action, go to the State Attorney general. It does not matter who someone knows, justice is blind and will prevail.
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