Jail terms for 4 San Diego men in surfer’s death

September 5th, 2008 · No Comments

Four former high school friends were sentenced to between 90 and 349 days in jail Friday for their roles in the fatal beating of professional surfer Emery Kauanui, sentences far shorter than prosecutors had sought.

Superior Court Judge John S. Einhorn said he considered the defendants’ past clean records and lack of evidence that any of them delivered the fatal blow, even as he chastised them for spreading fear in the upscale seaside community of La Jolla with alcohol-tinged fights.

“You don’t have to be a criminal street gang to be a bunch of bullies that together think they’re stronger, tougher, smarter, and can get away with murder,” the judge said at the sentencing for all but one defendant in the case.

Seth Cravens, alleged to be the ringleader, has pleaded not guilty to murder and faces trial Oct. 14.

A bar argument in 2007 ended in a showdown that left Kauanui, 24, bleeding outside his mother’s home. Hospitalized with severe head trauma, he died three days later after being taken off life support.

Kauanui’s mother tearfully told the judge she lost the love of her life.

“All I can tell you is that I love him so much and it’s just not the same,” said Cindy Kauanui. “Our family is broken.”

The single parent of three left the courtroom before the judge read the sentences.

Nigel Kauanui spoke of how his brother encouraged him to become a musician. The surfer’s girlfriend of six years, Jennifer Grosso, said losing him was a “lifetime sentence.”

“I lost the love of my life, a soulmate and someone I was planning to spend the rest of my life with,” Grosso said.

Raised in Kauai, Hawaii, and nicknamed the “Flying Hawaiian,” Kauanui was a fixture at San Diego’s Windansea Beach, just a few blocks from his house, where his favorite surf break is now called “Emery’s Left.”