There was a surfer gang in the Hawthorne area around the late 70's and early 80's called the Road Runners. Many went to Leuzinger High School. Not really sure how active they were, I think they were mainly stoner types. There rivals were supposed to be the Low Riders.
Anyone know about this?
Surfer Gang gang Road Runners
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Common Sense
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Common Sense
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Surfer Slaying Suspects To Challenge Gang Allegations
February 8, 2008
SAN DIEGO -- Attorneys for two of five men accused of beating a professional surfer to death in La Jolla last year plan to fight allegations that they were members of an alleged gang.
Seth Cravens, 22, Eric House, 20, Orlando Osuna, 22, Matthew Yanke, 21, and Henri Quinn-William Hendricks, 22, are charged with murder, assault and gang allegations in the attack that killed Emery Kauanui, 24, last May.
On Friday, Judge John Einhorn granted the defense's request to delay a preliminary hearing in the case. The hearing was originally set to begin on March 11, but Cravens' attorney asked the judge to postpone the court date until May.
Mary Ellen Attridge was appointed as Cravens' attorney in January. She told the judge she wanted six months to prepare for the hearing, saying the other attorneys would have had 11 months to get ready if the proceeding went as scheduled.
Prosecutors have alleged that it was Cravens who delivered the fatal blow to the 24-year-old victim on May, 24, 2006. Authorities said Kauanui fell back and hit his head. He died a few days later at a hospital.
Investigators said the attack followed a drink-spilling encounter at the La Jolla Brew House, between House and the victim. Prosecutors believe he was encouraged to fight Kauanui after the five men allegedly followed the victim to the home he shared with his mother.
Search warrants filed in the case against the men allege they were part of a gang known as the Bird Rock Bandits. The documents claim that the accused killers allegedly wanted to be members of the Hell's Angels outlaw motorcycle gang and that they were also allegedly anti-Semitic.
Attorneys for House and Yanke said during Friday's court session that they intend to present evidence on behalf of their clients, challenging the allegation that the defendants were part of the Bird Rock Bandits.
Yanke's attorney, Kerry Steigerwalt, said he had consulted a preeminent gang expert who concluded there is no basis for calling the group a "gang."
"I want to attack it at the preliminary hearing," the attorney said. "I want to eliminate it."
House's attorney, Earll Pott, also argued against the gang allegation. He pointed out that Hendricks was not originally identified as a suspect, and told the judge that the day after Kauanui died, Hendricks came forward and told police he was at the fight scene, according to an affidavit.
Until being charged in Kauanui's death, Hendricks was a backup quarterback for the University of New Hampshire.
According to the affidavits in support of police search warrants, Cravens' best friend is a documented member of the Hell's Angels and is the treasurer of the San Diego chapter. In the papers, he is described as Cravens' "mentor in violence."
Cravens let the police search his home, where police said they found evidence to support gang affiliation, including Nazi symbols and images and words denigrating persons of Jewish and African origin, as well as numerous scenes of violence and gore.
The affidavit in support of the search warrants also outlines numerous other offenses authorities said involved the suspects.
The defendants each face up to 15 years to life in prison if convicted.
Fatal clash of surfer and spoilt white boys
A BLOODY clash between members of California’s two most enduring youth tribes � a professional surfer and rich whiteboy “gangsters” � is prompting fierce debate about indulgent parents and lazy policing in La Jolla, one of California’s wealthiest beachside towns.
Five young men are facing charges of murdering Emery Kauanui, a surfer whom they had brushed against in a bar. They then allegedly followed him home and beat him to death on his doorstep. Last week the drumbeat of blame and social division started to mount.
Anne Cleveland, the town council’s president, pronounced that La Jolla, a rich enclave north of San Diego and known for its surf, sun and hippie liberalism, is itself on trial. “Privilege, policing and parenting must also share responsibility for this dreadful death,” Cleveland said as the five young men were committed to trial.
It did not help that the 24-year-old victim was an “outsider”. His mother, Cindy Kauanui, a former model, had moved her three sons from Hawaii in 1992 in the wake of a hurricane and still felt out of place in a town of two classes � the rich and those who serve them.
She had become wealthy by recruiting local surfer boys and girls for magazine glamour shoots seeking “the Golden State essence”. Her Seth Cravens, above left, is said to be the leader of the gang accused of killing Emery Kauanui, right. The clash has thrown up the stark divisions in a Californian surfers’ paradise son was known as “the Flying Hawaiian” for his aerial stunts riding the 20ft waves that curl into La Jolla’s shores.
Although Emery Kauanui was no innocent � he had got into fights as a teenager � he had a steady girlfriend and was earning more than £50,000 (US100,000) a year in product endorsements.
He was, however, a surfer “dude”, good-natured and relaxed and thus a natural irritant to the “townies”, La Jolla’s disgruntled and bored children of wealthy computer and biotech entrepreneurs, who hate surfers.
His nemesis turned out to be five men aged between 20 and 22 who called themselves the Bird Rock Bandits. In a largely white and Hispanic town, they modelled themselves on black gangs.
Seth Cravens, the so-called gang leader and a spoilt child from an affluent home, boasted how tough he was on his MySpace page, where he claimed that he had already killed at least one rival.
One hot night last May, Kauanui provided the classic provocation by spilling beer over one of Cravens’s friends at the popular Brew House bar. He left the bar hurriedly, keen to avoid a confrontation, but Cravens and four friends followed him home and challenged him to a fight.
Details are sketchy, but witnesses agree that the surfer knocked down his first challenger, who was later found by police wandering around looking for a missing tooth.
Then, as Kauanui’s screaming girlfriend was held back, witnesses say Cravens punched him. The surfer lost his balance, fell and cracked his head. He died four days later in hospital. A few days afterwards, hundreds of surfers paddled into the balmy Pacific waters off La Jolla for a memorial service that was broadcast across the nation.
Cravens claims it was an accident. Last week he was sent to prison on $1.5m (£760,000) bail.
Despite parental denials that they actually did anything “gangsterish”, the five are being charged as a gang, which under California law carries an additional 20 years on top of any other jail sentences they may face.
The La Jolla Light, a local newspaper, says the youths were, like so many others in the town, beyond the control of parents, schools, church or police. “How does a smart, caring community like La Jolla allow this kind of spiralling thuggish behaviour for so long without taking notice?” it asked.
The police called the case unique, denying they turned a blind eye to the children of the wealthy drinking and fighting.
However, David Ponsford, a high-school football coach, said such alcohol-driven tragedies are “La Jolla’s dirty little secret”. He added: “We like to pretend it’s all Hollywood perfect in paradise in California’s golden sunlight. In fact it’s like many other American cities. It’s murder � in more stylish clothing.”
Interesting Words From The Public
When black and latino boys join groups to protect themselves on the streets of East L.A., they're called and treated by the law like "gangsters". When highly privileged middle and upper-class white boys join groups to imitate "black gangs" and act like gangsters, their defenders merely describe them as being "gangsterish". It's a good thing the "Bird Rock Bandits" are being charged under gang laws - the laws that send poor young men from the inner cities to jail for long periods of time should be equally applied to all. Oliver Massachusetts
This is such a tipical tragedy in todays liberal socioty. White boys trying to be black gansters . tThey will go the way of most gansters. either dead or in prison. Also what in the world is this writers point in describing the money in the article in english pounds. We live in the United States, we use the dollar. If he so hates our currencvy maybe he should move to england.
Stephen, Corona Del Mar, CA
February 8, 2008
SAN DIEGO -- Attorneys for two of five men accused of beating a professional surfer to death in La Jolla last year plan to fight allegations that they were members of an alleged gang.
Seth Cravens, 22, Eric House, 20, Orlando Osuna, 22, Matthew Yanke, 21, and Henri Quinn-William Hendricks, 22, are charged with murder, assault and gang allegations in the attack that killed Emery Kauanui, 24, last May.
On Friday, Judge John Einhorn granted the defense's request to delay a preliminary hearing in the case. The hearing was originally set to begin on March 11, but Cravens' attorney asked the judge to postpone the court date until May.
Mary Ellen Attridge was appointed as Cravens' attorney in January. She told the judge she wanted six months to prepare for the hearing, saying the other attorneys would have had 11 months to get ready if the proceeding went as scheduled.
Prosecutors have alleged that it was Cravens who delivered the fatal blow to the 24-year-old victim on May, 24, 2006. Authorities said Kauanui fell back and hit his head. He died a few days later at a hospital.
Investigators said the attack followed a drink-spilling encounter at the La Jolla Brew House, between House and the victim. Prosecutors believe he was encouraged to fight Kauanui after the five men allegedly followed the victim to the home he shared with his mother.
Search warrants filed in the case against the men allege they were part of a gang known as the Bird Rock Bandits. The documents claim that the accused killers allegedly wanted to be members of the Hell's Angels outlaw motorcycle gang and that they were also allegedly anti-Semitic.
Attorneys for House and Yanke said during Friday's court session that they intend to present evidence on behalf of their clients, challenging the allegation that the defendants were part of the Bird Rock Bandits.
Yanke's attorney, Kerry Steigerwalt, said he had consulted a preeminent gang expert who concluded there is no basis for calling the group a "gang."
"I want to attack it at the preliminary hearing," the attorney said. "I want to eliminate it."
House's attorney, Earll Pott, also argued against the gang allegation. He pointed out that Hendricks was not originally identified as a suspect, and told the judge that the day after Kauanui died, Hendricks came forward and told police he was at the fight scene, according to an affidavit.
Until being charged in Kauanui's death, Hendricks was a backup quarterback for the University of New Hampshire.
According to the affidavits in support of police search warrants, Cravens' best friend is a documented member of the Hell's Angels and is the treasurer of the San Diego chapter. In the papers, he is described as Cravens' "mentor in violence."
Cravens let the police search his home, where police said they found evidence to support gang affiliation, including Nazi symbols and images and words denigrating persons of Jewish and African origin, as well as numerous scenes of violence and gore.
The affidavit in support of the search warrants also outlines numerous other offenses authorities said involved the suspects.
The defendants each face up to 15 years to life in prison if convicted.
Fatal clash of surfer and spoilt white boys
A BLOODY clash between members of California’s two most enduring youth tribes � a professional surfer and rich whiteboy “gangsters” � is prompting fierce debate about indulgent parents and lazy policing in La Jolla, one of California’s wealthiest beachside towns.
Five young men are facing charges of murdering Emery Kauanui, a surfer whom they had brushed against in a bar. They then allegedly followed him home and beat him to death on his doorstep. Last week the drumbeat of blame and social division started to mount.
Anne Cleveland, the town council’s president, pronounced that La Jolla, a rich enclave north of San Diego and known for its surf, sun and hippie liberalism, is itself on trial. “Privilege, policing and parenting must also share responsibility for this dreadful death,” Cleveland said as the five young men were committed to trial.
It did not help that the 24-year-old victim was an “outsider”. His mother, Cindy Kauanui, a former model, had moved her three sons from Hawaii in 1992 in the wake of a hurricane and still felt out of place in a town of two classes � the rich and those who serve them.
She had become wealthy by recruiting local surfer boys and girls for magazine glamour shoots seeking “the Golden State essence”. Her Seth Cravens, above left, is said to be the leader of the gang accused of killing Emery Kauanui, right. The clash has thrown up the stark divisions in a Californian surfers’ paradise son was known as “the Flying Hawaiian” for his aerial stunts riding the 20ft waves that curl into La Jolla’s shores.
Although Emery Kauanui was no innocent � he had got into fights as a teenager � he had a steady girlfriend and was earning more than £50,000 (US100,000) a year in product endorsements.
He was, however, a surfer “dude”, good-natured and relaxed and thus a natural irritant to the “townies”, La Jolla’s disgruntled and bored children of wealthy computer and biotech entrepreneurs, who hate surfers.
His nemesis turned out to be five men aged between 20 and 22 who called themselves the Bird Rock Bandits. In a largely white and Hispanic town, they modelled themselves on black gangs.
Seth Cravens, the so-called gang leader and a spoilt child from an affluent home, boasted how tough he was on his MySpace page, where he claimed that he had already killed at least one rival.
One hot night last May, Kauanui provided the classic provocation by spilling beer over one of Cravens’s friends at the popular Brew House bar. He left the bar hurriedly, keen to avoid a confrontation, but Cravens and four friends followed him home and challenged him to a fight.
Details are sketchy, but witnesses agree that the surfer knocked down his first challenger, who was later found by police wandering around looking for a missing tooth.
Then, as Kauanui’s screaming girlfriend was held back, witnesses say Cravens punched him. The surfer lost his balance, fell and cracked his head. He died four days later in hospital. A few days afterwards, hundreds of surfers paddled into the balmy Pacific waters off La Jolla for a memorial service that was broadcast across the nation.
Cravens claims it was an accident. Last week he was sent to prison on $1.5m (£760,000) bail.
Despite parental denials that they actually did anything “gangsterish”, the five are being charged as a gang, which under California law carries an additional 20 years on top of any other jail sentences they may face.
The La Jolla Light, a local newspaper, says the youths were, like so many others in the town, beyond the control of parents, schools, church or police. “How does a smart, caring community like La Jolla allow this kind of spiralling thuggish behaviour for so long without taking notice?” it asked.
The police called the case unique, denying they turned a blind eye to the children of the wealthy drinking and fighting.
However, David Ponsford, a high-school football coach, said such alcohol-driven tragedies are “La Jolla’s dirty little secret”. He added: “We like to pretend it’s all Hollywood perfect in paradise in California’s golden sunlight. In fact it’s like many other American cities. It’s murder � in more stylish clothing.”
Interesting Words From The Public
When black and latino boys join groups to protect themselves on the streets of East L.A., they're called and treated by the law like "gangsters". When highly privileged middle and upper-class white boys join groups to imitate "black gangs" and act like gangsters, their defenders merely describe them as being "gangsterish". It's a good thing the "Bird Rock Bandits" are being charged under gang laws - the laws that send poor young men from the inner cities to jail for long periods of time should be equally applied to all. Oliver Massachusetts
This is such a tipical tragedy in todays liberal socioty. White boys trying to be black gansters . tThey will go the way of most gansters. either dead or in prison. Also what in the world is this writers point in describing the money in the article in english pounds. We live in the United States, we use the dollar. If he so hates our currencvy maybe he should move to england.
Stephen, Corona Del Mar, CA
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Common Sense
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Local surfers
Local surfers can be violent when it comes to protecting their surf break from tourists or outside surfers. Some surfers have been known to form gangs that surf in a certain break or beach and fiercely protect their "territory" from outsiders. These surfers are often referred to as "surf punks" or "surf nazis." The local surfer gangs in Malibu and on Hawaii, known as the hui, have been known to threaten tourists with physical violence for invading their territory.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutback_%2 ... mmon_terms
There always a few fools trying to "ride" a little bit at the beach, but when it comes down to it, most back down.
Beaches in L.A. that tried to have that Locals only mentality is:
Palos Verdes
Parts of Torrance Beach
I think San Diego is more know for this BS.
Local surfers can be violent when it comes to protecting their surf break from tourists or outside surfers. Some surfers have been known to form gangs that surf in a certain break or beach and fiercely protect their "territory" from outsiders. These surfers are often referred to as "surf punks" or "surf nazis." The local surfer gangs in Malibu and on Hawaii, known as the hui, have been known to threaten tourists with physical violence for invading their territory.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutback_%2 ... mmon_terms
There always a few fools trying to "ride" a little bit at the beach, but when it comes down to it, most back down.
Beaches in L.A. that tried to have that Locals only mentality is:
Palos Verdes
Parts of Torrance Beach
I think San Diego is more know for this BS.
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Silencioso
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- What city do you live in now?: West Los
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Silencioso
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Windansea back in the day was a violent spot in san diego...Used to be very violent, burning cars, etc...being a surfer myself i have heard of these different groups and clicks, many are just trying to be hardcore and territorial but arent. I know venice back in the day used to have pretty territorial groups, around dogtown period...and i have heard recently that other la beaches like palos verdes have had some instances with fights and possible stabbings...but a lot of these folks arent really tough at all but try to play the role...but then again what is "tough"
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thonkoboy2000
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Common Sense
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Cold Bear
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Venice might have been the capital of surfer gangs, but with real gangs around, the surfer gangs in Venice were a little more 'real' like having old english, block letter tats and looking like normal gangs. Venice Break Water Locos was mostly mexican and they were a small gang that looked like normal gangsters
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justice league
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Huntington beach and Newport beach or the surfer gangs towns of choice,... for the surf of course.Cold Bear wrote:Venice might have been the capital of surfer gangs, but with real gangs around, the surfer gangs in Venice were a little more 'real' like having old english, block letter tats and looking like normal gangs. Venice Break Water Locos was mostly mexican and they were a small gang that looked like normal gangsters
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Old Shatterhand
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We fought them sometimes when we down to the beach in the summer in those days but it was in self-defense (hand-to-hand and then run from the police stuff at the beach). I don't think anyone of us actually hated them though they might have hated us. It was like this: it was their home but open to the public and we were going down there to party and they didn't like it. Just went with the territory in those days if you wanted to go to the beach. Calabunga.
Silencioso wrote:The locals mentality was huge in West L.A. back in the 70's and early 80's. Every beach community had there own surfer gang. They usually had straight forward names like Santa Monica Surfers, West Side Surfers, Pali Surfers etc. They hated people from the SF Valley - "vals" - in particular.
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Joe Batters
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3 to 5 Is Life
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norcalwood
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Re: Surfer Gangs
Somethings gotta be said about some of the surf gangs out in Santa Cruz. You used to have the pleasure point night fighters and the west side raiders. The raiders are long gone as far as i know and the night fighters are completely legit now. Most of the surf "gangs" are just groups of local kids who regulate on trannies that trash our beaches crowd our surf spots. PROUD TO BE FROM EASTSIDE SANTA CRUZ.
Re: Surfer Gangs
I am trying to find some white gang involved youth to work on a project and share their experiences. I have interviewed a good amount of kids, but I need more.
Any assist? any ideas?
Any assist? any ideas?