3 Simi Valley teens to serve time in juvenile facility for Regal Cinema hate crimes

Three Simi Valley teens who were charged with assault, battery, and hate crimes for a summertime brawl that took place in a movie theater parking lot were given varying sentences -- between seven and eight months in a juvenile facility.

On August 1, five minors argued with a group of teens outside the Simi Valley Regal Cinema, which escalated into a physical fight involving three victims.

According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, one victim was punched in the jaw, another was pushed to the ground and stomped on, and a third was confronted with racial slurs, chased, surrounded, and repeatedly punched.

The group continued the assault as the victim ran toward the cinema food court, where he was again surrounded and beaten, with his head shoved into a trash can.

One minor recorded part of the assault while repeatedly using racial slurs.

"Based on the facts of this case, including the violence used and the bias-motivated nature of the attacks, we sought detention and significant rehabilitative consequences for the three minors charged with hate crimes," said Senior Deputy District Attorney Maureen Byrne, the supervisor of the Juvenile Unit.

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said on Friday that all three juveniles charged with hate crime allegations in connection with the August 1 assault have now been sentenced.

The final minor charged with a hate crime was sentenced on Nov. 19 to serve roughly eight months in a locked juvenile facility and one month on electronic monitoring. 

The other two minors charged with a hate crime were each sentenced on Nov. 13 to serve roughly seven months in a juvenile facility, and one month on electronic monitoring.

All three were ordered to participate in the Harm to Healing Restorative Justice Program and the Anti-Defamation League Program.

"We sought justice for our victims and accountability for the offenders that reflected the seriousness of these crimes. Multiple months of custody in a locked Juvenile Facility underscores the seriousness of their crimes," Nasarenko said.

The remaining two minors involved in the case were not charged with a hate crime. Their cases are scheduled for continued arraignment on November 21 and December 3.