A 15-year-old African-American defendant in the Halloween beatings of three women was arrested again

Associated Press:

A 15-year-old defendant in the Halloween beatings of three women was arrested again, a day after prosecutors offered a plea deal in the highly publicized case.

The youth was one of two 15-year-old boys awaiting trial in the beating case involving the attack on three white women by a group of black youths.

The Jordan High student was arrested Tuesday night and booked for investigation of felony robbery after he and a group of friends allegedly stole a young woman's cellular phone, Lt. Ty Hatfield said.

The victim was talking on the phone on a city bus when it was ripped out of her hand by one of the youths, the woman and witnesses said. Three youths were arrested.

The defendant in the Halloween beatings case was not the young man suspected of taking the phone, investigators said.

"It's not clear yet if it is a conspiracy," Hatfield said. "We are re-interviewing the victim and the witness now to find out."

Deputy District Attorney Andrea Bouas said it was too early to say if the new charge will have an impact on the plea offer. On Monday, prosecutors offered him and a co-defendant a plea deal that would guarantee them a sentence of three months in a probation camp in exchange for a guilty plea to one count of felony assault with a hate crime and personal infliction enhancement.

The two 15-year-olds awaiting trial were allegedly among a group of youths who taunted the three victims, a 21-year-old and two 19-year-olds, with racial slurs while pelting them with fruit, pumpkins and newspapers and finally beating the young women to the ground using their fists, feet and a skateboard.

One woman had more than a dozen facial fractures and is recovering from reconstruction surgery. Another was knocked unconscious.

In January eight Long Beach girls and one man, ages 13 to 18, were convicted of felony assault and eight of them also were convicted of a hate-crime enhancement.

They were sentenced to probation and house arrest after spending about three months in custody during their trials.

Teen suspect in Halloween beating is arrested again