Orlando Osuna, 22, a La Jolla High School graduate and one of four suspects in the murder of professional La Jolla surfer Emery Kauanui, was released Monday, July 2, on $500,000 bail.
Osuna’s bail, which was originally set at $1.2 million, was reduced in mid-June, according to attorney Fritz Reich, who argues the defendant had little involvement in the murder of Kauanui.
“Mr. Osuna has never been in trouble before; never been in jail before, so it was a very difficult thing for him and his family to go through, and he is naturally very happy to be free again,” Reich said.
Suspects Matthew Yanke, 20, and Eric House, 20, also La Jolla High graduates, were released in June on bail of $1 million and $1.5 million, respectively. Seth Cravens, 21, also of La Jolla, remains behind bars in lieu of $2 million bail. A preliminary hearing during which all four men will appear in court is scheduled for Sept. 12, Reich said.
The four men are accused of beating Kauanui in front of his Draper Street home in the early morning hours of May 25. The Hawaii native and La Jolla resident died May 28 as a result of head injuries he sustained from the beating, according to police records.
During the evening of May 24, Kauanui and the men had allegedly been asked to leave the La Jolla Brew House after they fought over a drink Kauanui reportedly spilled on one of the men, according to police.
The four men later showed up at the surfer’s home and began attacking him, police said.
Since the incident, police have received more than 20 calls from people claiming to have previously been victims of the four suspects, according to Lt. Kevin Rooney of the San Diego Police Department’s homicide unit.
A conference with all four defendants and the prosecution is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 3 in order to negotiate plea bargains, according to Reich, who said he does not expect the prosecution to drop charges against his client at that time.
Reich is confident his client will be cleared of charges once more evidence from the night of the murder has been presented, he said.
“I can tell you this: He didn’t touch the victim,” Reich said of Osuna. “He never touched him. It was depicted to be a gang beating ” that’s what everyone believed. That’s not at all what happened. My client never touched the victim, yet he is being charged with murder.”
At the preliminary hearing Sept. 12, the prosecution will present evidence, which Reich believes will paint a different picture than what has been previously presented by the media and other city officials, he said.
“La Jolla is a very close-knit group of people who all know each other and talk, and they are interested in knowing what’s going on in the community, which is a good thing,” Reich said. “But unfortunately, sometimes that can distort the truth. This really hits close to home, and unfortunately there are no winners.”