Father Of Jailed Skateboarder Insists Victim Of Beating Was The Aggressor
HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBSLA.com) — New witness accounts contradict the story that had a Good Samaritan critically injured when he tried to break up a fight between two groups of skateboarders.
The father of one of the teens jailed in the beating of the 25-year-old man, also says the skateboarders were defending themselves against an attack.
Brittney Hopper, reporting for KCAL9, spoke to the jailed teen's father.
Fearing for his life, he didn't want to show his face on camera, but he told Hopper, how he reacted when police told him his son was behind bars Saturday night. "They said 'Curtis won't be coming home tonight. He will be booked in juvenile hall under attempted murder charges'. I dropped to my knees. Started crying and praying."
The man's 15-year-old son is in custody after what police are calling a massive brawl at a skate park. The father says it was self defense.
The so-called Good Samaritan, he insists, "had a screwdriver in his hand and he started charging the boys. He actually stabbed one boy."
The father showed Hopper a picture of what appears to be 3-4 puncture wounds on an arm.
The teens only attacked the man, said the father, after the 25-year-old attacked them.
According to Huntington Beach Police, it all started after the victim's girlfriend saw the teens arguing and she tried to intervene. The crowd (now believed to be about 10 kids, it was initially reported there were 40) then turned on her and she ran to get her boyfriend.
Police say the teens then turned on him -- chasing him down and catching him at a nearby laundromat where the attack continued. Witnesses say they saw the teens beat the victim with their skateboards.
The victim is fighting for his life at UCI Medical Center.
Hopper tried to talk to the alleged victim's family, but they declined to comment citing the on-going investigation.
The jailed boy's father says he is praying for the victim and for the "truth to come out."
He added, "Huntington Beach police do a great job, but you know every now and then things happen and I think this story needs a lot more digging into."
Related Link:
Man, 25, Beaten Nearly To Death By 40 Teens Using Skateboards
