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08-05-2009, 12:20 AM
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HUNTINGTON BEACH – Police are looking for a man and woman who they believe may be white supremacists in a group of four who assaulted a Latino man last month and were driven away by neighbors, officials said.
Huntington Beach police have issued an arrest warrant for Erin Brooks, 24, of Huntington Beach, and Brian Hanson, 26, of Santa Ana, police said.
Michael Powell, 21, of Anaheim, and Bret Hicks, 30 of Riverside, who are also suspected in the attack, are in custody at the Orange County Jail and are scheduled for arraignment Monday.
All four have been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault with hate crime enhancements, which could lead to about 20 years in prison, Huntington Beach police spokesman Russell Reinhart said.
The four people are being identified as white supremacists based on their tattoos, which say "Skinhead," "White Pride" and "Hate" and have references to "Heil Hitler" and a Nazi swastika, prosecutors and court documents said.
Reinhart said three men and a woman were circling the Oak View community, a predominantly Latino neighborhood in Huntington Beach, about 11:55 p.m. July 3 to hurt someone who is "non-white," Reinhart said.
When the group found the victim standing in an alley speaking with another person, they attacked, yelling racial slurs, Reinhart said. The Orange County Register is excluding the victim's name because of concerns for his safety.
The victim was stabbed three times, fell to the ground and was punched and kicked when neighbors came to his rescue, Reinhart said.
"Apparently, several people from the neighborhood jumped in to assist the victim and beat up the suspects," he said.
The victim was taken to the hospital and released the next day. The people involved in the beating sustained several bruises and cuts but did not need to go to the hospital, Reinhart said.
The four were taken into custody charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Brooks and Hanson were released on bail, Reinhart said.
However, the District Attorney's Office later added charges of attempted murder with hate crime enhancements for all four, and Huntington Beach police issued warrants for the arrest of Brooks and Hanson. Police have been unable to find the two, Reinhart said.
Despite the July incident, white supremacist crime in Huntington Beach has been on a decline in the past 10 years, Reinhart said.
"But it still occurs occasionally and these people are examples of why we enforce this type of crime so diligently," he said.
About five years ago, Brooks was in the car with Billy Joe "BJ Psycho" Johnson when police discovered the body of a 26-year-old Laguna Niguel man named Cory Lamons in the trunk, the Register reported at the time.
Johnson, a former Nazi Low Rider with SS lightning bolts inked on his throat, was convicted in 2006 for beating the man to death for stealing $12,000 from a stripper named Wild Kitten. Brooks was charged with murder, but entered into a plea deal in 2005 that resulted in felony probation.
Powell is a suspect in another stabbing last year in Huntington Beach, police said. He is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with criminal street gang enhancements.
Hicks, who is alleged to have stabbed the man in Oak View, was convicted of a felony in November 2005 for assault with a deadly weapon and another felony in July 1998 for stealing a car.
Hanson was convicted of a felony in August 2000 for assault with a deadly weapon and attempted robbery, court documents said.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/police-supremacists-fight-2517918-attack-latino
HUNTINGTON BEACH – Police are looking for a man and woman who they believe may be white supremacists in a group of four who assaulted a Latino man last month and were driven away by neighbors, officials said.
Huntington Beach police have issued an arrest warrant for Erin Brooks, 24, of Huntington Beach, and Brian Hanson, 26, of Santa Ana, police said.
Michael Powell, 21, of Anaheim, and Bret Hicks, 30 of Riverside, who are also suspected in the attack, are in custody at the Orange County Jail and are scheduled for arraignment Monday.
All four have been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault with hate crime enhancements, which could lead to about 20 years in prison, Huntington Beach police spokesman Russell Reinhart said.
The four people are being identified as white supremacists based on their tattoos, which say "Skinhead," "White Pride" and "Hate" and have references to "Heil Hitler" and a Nazi swastika, prosecutors and court documents said.
Reinhart said three men and a woman were circling the Oak View community, a predominantly Latino neighborhood in Huntington Beach, about 11:55 p.m. July 3 to hurt someone who is "non-white," Reinhart said.
When the group found the victim standing in an alley speaking with another person, they attacked, yelling racial slurs, Reinhart said. The Orange County Register is excluding the victim's name because of concerns for his safety.
The victim was stabbed three times, fell to the ground and was punched and kicked when neighbors came to his rescue, Reinhart said.
"Apparently, several people from the neighborhood jumped in to assist the victim and beat up the suspects," he said.
The victim was taken to the hospital and released the next day. The people involved in the beating sustained several bruises and cuts but did not need to go to the hospital, Reinhart said.
The four were taken into custody charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Brooks and Hanson were released on bail, Reinhart said.
However, the District Attorney's Office later added charges of attempted murder with hate crime enhancements for all four, and Huntington Beach police issued warrants for the arrest of Brooks and Hanson. Police have been unable to find the two, Reinhart said.
Despite the July incident, white supremacist crime in Huntington Beach has been on a decline in the past 10 years, Reinhart said.
"But it still occurs occasionally and these people are examples of why we enforce this type of crime so diligently," he said.
About five years ago, Brooks was in the car with Billy Joe "BJ Psycho" Johnson when police discovered the body of a 26-year-old Laguna Niguel man named Cory Lamons in the trunk, the Register reported at the time.
Johnson, a former Nazi Low Rider with SS lightning bolts inked on his throat, was convicted in 2006 for beating the man to death for stealing $12,000 from a stripper named Wild Kitten. Brooks was charged with murder, but entered into a plea deal in 2005 that resulted in felony probation.
Powell is a suspect in another stabbing last year in Huntington Beach, police said. He is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with criminal street gang enhancements.
Hicks, who is alleged to have stabbed the man in Oak View, was convicted of a felony in November 2005 for assault with a deadly weapon and another felony in July 1998 for stealing a car.
Hanson was convicted of a felony in August 2000 for assault with a deadly weapon and attempted robbery, court documents said.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/police-supremacists-fight-2517918-attack-latino