The reversal of the second-degree murder conviction for Seth Cravens surprised some when the 4th District Court of Appeals issued its opinion last August concerning the 2007 death of La Jolla surfer Emery Kauanui, Jr. by a member of the so-called “Bird Rock Bandits” gang. The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office appealed that decision, and last week the state Supreme Court agreed to review that appellate decision. Cravens, 24, of La Jolla, remains in prison until the matter is resolved. The appeals court overturned Cravens’ murder conviction, and his sentence of 20 years to life. The court reduced the conviction to voluntary manslaughter and did not grant a new trial. The maximum sentence for manslaughter is 16 years. The appeals court ruled there was not enough evidence to show that Cravens knew his punch to Kauanui’s face could be fatal. The punch dropped Kauanui, 24, to the ground, fracturing his skull upon hitting the pavement outside his home on May 24, 2007. Sophia Roach, the prosecutor, said she thought the appellate ruling to reduce the conviction to manslaughter was unusual and backed her office’s appeal so the state Supreme Court will decide it. Cravens was tried for murder and unrelated assaults on other people in La Jolla, and was convicted in 2009. The ruling does not affect three others who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the Kauanui case. Matthew Yanke, 23, Orlando Osuna, 24, and Eric House, 22, all of La Jolla, were initially sentenced to jail terms and three years of probation in 2008. However, they were all found to have repeatedly violated probation terms by drinking alcohol, using marijuana or associating with each other. On Jan. 22, all three were sentenced to three years in different prisons, separated from each other.