Four Men Sentenced For Role In Surfer's Death

SAN DIEGO -- Four young men who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the beating death of a professional surfer in La Jolla were sentenced Friday to probation and jail time by a judge who told them to make the rest of their lives matter and honor the victim's memory.

Orlando Osuna, 23; Eric House, 21; and Matthew Yanke, 22; each pleaded guilty on June 27 to involuntary manslaughter in the death of 24-year-old Emery Kauanui.

Osuna -- who also pleaded guilty to three counts of misdemeanor battery for prior assaults -- was sentenced to the longest jail term -- 349 days.

Judge John Einhorn sentenced both Yanke and House to 210 days behind bars.

Hank Hendricks, also 22, got a 90-day jail term. He pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact.

All of the defendants were immediately taken into custody after Friday afternoon's sentencing hearing.

Before they were led away, the judge warned them that if they violated any terms of probation over the next three years, he would not hesitate to send them to prison.

"I'm taking a chance. Don't disappoint me," the judge told the defendants.

Outside court, Yanke's attorney, Kerry Steigerwalt, said, "The judge gave them a tremendous opportunity, each and every one of them."

The man accused of throwing the sucker-punch that killed Kauanui, 22-year-old Seth Cravens, is scheduled to go on trial next month on second-degree murder and other charges.

The defendants got into a fight with Kauanui on May 24, 2007, outside his home following a drink-spilling incident at the nearby La Jolla Brew House.

During the fight, Cravens allegedly punched Kauanui, causing him to fall backward and hit his head. The victim died at a hospital four days later.

After Friday's sentencing hearing, a friend of Kauanui's, who identified himself only as Charles, told reporters he wasn't happy with the sentences the defendants received.

"I think it's garbage. I think it's terrible," he said outside court.

Referring to the defendants' association with a group called the Bird Rock Bandits, the friend said, "This whole crew is a bunch of troublemakers. Three months (in jail). That's to be laughed at, dude."

After a preliminary hearing in May, Einhorn ruled that the defendants were not members of a criminal street gang as the prosecution alleged.

During Friday's hearing, Deputy District Attorney Sophia Roach said the attack on Kauanui was a "group attack" and a "planned attack."

"It happened because there was a group," the prosecutor said. "It happened because there was backup, support and encouragement."

Roach has said that Kauanui was beaten at the direction of Cravens, who encouraged House to fight the surfer after the victim spilled or poured a drink on House at the bar.

Prosecutors theorize that once House and Kauanui squared off in a one-on-one fight, Cravens, Yanke, Osuna and Hendricks joined in hitting and kicking the victim while he was on the ground.

Defense attorneys maintained that none of their clients kicked or beat Kauanui after he was down.

Hendricks admitted pulling Kauanui's girlfriend, Jennifer Grosso, off House as he fought with Kauanui.

In court Friday, Grosso, the victim's girlfriend of six years, said she lost the love of her life and her "soulmate."

"I'm very clear about everything that happened," Grosso told the judge.

A tearful Cindy Kauanui said her son -- the youngest of her three boys -- was her "treasure" and the "love of my life."

"I'm honored to have been his mother," she said. "He's the most amazing child any mother could ever have. He loved me so much, and he made that very clear every day of his life."

The mother said she didn't know how long it would take for her heart to heal.

"It's not the same anymore," she said. "Our family's broken."

Roach showed a five-minute video in which someone asked Emery Kauanui what he liked about surfing.

"Surfing is my passion," Kauanui told the interviewer. "Even if I don't make money off surfing, I'll always surf because it's my passion."

House, through his attorney, Earll Pott, said he was remorseful for what happened to Kauanui.

Yanke told the judge that Kauanui's death "has destroyed my family and destroyed those around me."

The defendant said he has been attending two residential treatment programs in an effort to turn his life around.

"This isn't about me," Yanke said. "This is about the death of my friend Emery."

Yanke said he has taken full responsibility for his actions.

"Emery was always a loyal friend to me, and I let him down that evening," Yanke said. "And I'm ashamed of that."

Osuna also apologized to the Kauanui family and took responsibility for his actions the night the victim was fatally injured.

"Not a day goes by that I don't think about Emery," Osuna said.

Both Yanke and Osuna apologized to the community of La Jolla for the "wreckage" they caused.

Hendricks, a former backup quarterback of the University of New Hampshire, said everything he does in life is centered around the victim's memory. He said he goes to church every day and prays for Kauanui.

Before he sentenced the defendants, Einhorn had them stand up and look at the people in the packed courtroom.

"Look who you've let down and don't ever forget it," the judge told them.

The judge called Kauanui's death a "tragic, senseless, loss of life" that would be forever etched in the minds of the defendants.

"And you didn't do a damn thing to help him, and that's the senselessness of your conduct," Einhorn said.

The judge said he was amazed at the family and other support the defendants were getting through the entire case.

He said the crime involved five young men who were fueled by alcohol and engaged in a "herd mentality" that victimized their own community. "And you did it by violence and you did it by fear," the judge told the defendants.

Einhorn said one of the lessons to be learned from the tragedy was that "violence on the streets won't be tolerated in our community. It's that simple."

Even though the defendants didn't belong to a street gang in the legal sense of the word, he called them a "bunch of bullies" who together thought they were tougher and stronger and "could get away with murder."

The judge said it would have been easy to send the defendants to prison, but uniformity in sentencing dictated that he give them a chance to succeed on probation.

Einhorn said the defendants' lack of prior convictions played a role in his decision.

The judge also said there was no evidence that any of the four defendants struck a lethal blow against Kauanui.

"I am so convinced none of this would have happened if one of you had said, 'Let's go,'" the judge concluded.

In sentencing Hendricks, the judge said he had letters from family and friends saying the defendant was a "good guy" who had earned a college scholarship.

"And you didn't have the guts to do the right thing on this occasion," Einhorn said.

The judge ordered the defendants to stay away from Wind and Sea Beach in La Jolla and other establishments. He also ordered them to have no contact with named victims in the case.

"Nobody won guys," the judge told the defendants as the four-hour hearing concluded. "Please show your community, your families, the Kauanui family, (and) the memory of Emery Kauanui, that I haven't made a mistake on the sentencing."