Two of five minors arrested in a movie theater parking lot altercation in Simi Valley earlier this year have admitted to felony assault and hate crimes in the case, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Authorities said the teens assaulted at least three victims during the early August incident in front of the Regal Cinemas on Tapo Canyon Road, D.A. Erik Nasarenko said.
The defendants, who were identified only as three 17-year-olds and two 16-year-olds, were charged earlier this month with felony assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, with a special allegation of a hate crime.
One of the victims, 18-year-old Michael Robinson, told KTLA that the attack was racially motivated.
“They hit one of my friends in the face first,” Robinson said. “Then they hit another. Then they rushed me while I was between two cars. I managed to get out and ran into the parking lot. That’s when they slammed me into the hood of a car and jumped me.”
Cellphone video captured by a witness shows Robinson being chased, beaten and subjected to racial slurs.
Two of the teens arrested in the attack were also charged in a separate altercation in the same lot on May 30. One of those two has admitted to his involvement, Nasarenko said Thursday.
Arraignment for the three minors who have not admitted to the criminal charges is scheduled for mid-November.
Sentencing for the two teens who admitted to the charges is scheduled for Nov. 13 and Nov. 19, according to the D.A.’s Office.
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