Four people authorities describe as white supremacists pleaded not guilty at an Orange County Superior Court today to attempted murder after prosecutors and police say the group attacked a Latino man in Huntington Beach.
Erin Brooks, 24, Brian Hanson, 26, Michael Powell, 21, and Bret Hicks, 30, also pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault with hate crime enhancements, which could lead to 20 years in prison each. The four did not comment during today's hearing and were represented by private attorneys.
The four 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.
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," Huntington Beach police spokesman Russell 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, fighting off the attackers, Reinhart said.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/white-supremacists-guilty-2552396-latino-victimTwo of these four boneheads got hurt in the rescue of the man, hopefully that will make them think next time they think about hurting someone just because of the color of their skin.