The preliminary hearing for five young men who are accused of killing professional surfer Emery Kauanui outside his La Jolla home was delayed until Dec. 11 at the request of defense counsel.
The hearing was to have started Monday, Oct. 29, but was delayed by San Diego Superior Court Judge John Einhorn. With five defense attorneys, the hearing itself may last 10 days.
The only defendant still in jail is Seth Cravens, 21, who remains in the George F. Bailey Detention Facility on $1.5 million bail. Eric House, 20, Matthew Yanke, 21, Orlando Osuna, 22, and Henri Hendricks, 21, have all posted bond figures ranging from $1.5 million to $500,000.
All men waived their right to a speedy hearing and pleaded not guilty to all charges. Kauanui, 24, was attacked in the early morning hours of May 25 outside his mother’s home in La Jolla following an incident earlier that night at a tavern in which Kauanui reportedly poured some beer over House’s head. Kauanui left the tavern and got home, but the five men later showed up outside. Kauanui went outside and was beaten, suffering severe head trauma, and he died days later in a hospital.
An amended complaint was filed in mid-September that alleges other felony assaults, mostly by Cravens, that go back to 2005.
One incident allegedly took place on Feb. 4 when a young man was battered by Cravens and Osuna. The victim told police he could identify Cravens and Osuna because they had bullied him when he was a student at La Jolla High School.
Other incidents involved fights at parties to which Cravens showed up uninvited.
Hendricks, a student at the University of New Hampshire, was added to the murder case on Sept. 4, and he had to drop out of college to return to San Diego to face charges. Prosecutors say Hendricks also participated in the fatal fight, but he denies it.