3 parole violators sent to prison in pro surfer's death
POSTED: Sunday, January 24, 2010
SAN DIEGO » Three men who were convicted in the beating death of a pro surfer from Kauai have each been sentenced to three years in state prison for violating their parole.
A San Diego Superior Court Judge John Einhorn told the men they “;blew it”; Friday as he gave the sentence to 22-year-old Eric House, 24-year-old Orlando Osuna Wright and 23-year-old Matthew Yanke.
They were previously sentenced to less than a year, but the judge revoked their probation last month when they admitted to violating the terms of their release by using marijuana and associating with each other.
The defendants were convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Emery Kauanui in May 2007. The surfer received a fatal punch outside his mother's house in the wealthy seaside community of La Jolla. The three men had initially been charged with murder, but pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
Another defendant, Seth Cravens, the ringleader of their group called the “;Bird Rock Bandits,”; was found guilty of second-degree murder in 2008. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.
Kauanui was born on Kauai, but moved to California with his mother after Hurricane Iniki in 1992. He still has family on the Garden Isle and visited often.