A video spreading around shocked South County households shows two teens savagely beating a 16-year-old boy on an elementary school playground in Ladera Ranch, according to sheriff's deputies who have arrested the pair.
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Ladera Ranch: Wholesome Community or Den of Crime?
The 24-second video originally posted on the Ladera Ranch No Bullying Facebook page is so disturbing that some initially assumed it was a hoax. Here is the KTLA/Channel 5 version:
The after-school incident May 20 at Chapparal Elementary School led to arrests the following day of Robert Valentin Ayala, 18, and a 17-year-old boy whose name was not released because he is a minor. Ayala pleaded not guilty to charges of felony aggravated assault and battery. He was being held at the Theo Lacy Facility in lieu of $50,000 bail.
The 16- and 17-year-olds were fighting when the younger boy fell to the ground and the young man alleged to be Ayala gave a full kick to the victim's head, according to authorities. The video shows the 17-year-old, the largest of the three teens, going on to repeatedly punch the head of the 16-year-old, who is finished off by the oldest teen doing the wrestling move that has him jumping onto the lifeless victim with his full body weight.
The victim was knocked unconscious and, according to the Orange County District Attorney's attorney's office, suffered a concussion, broken nose, cuts and bruises.
“Little bitches! I would love to come up on this going down!” writes someone identifying himself as Michael Edwards-Cote, one of 355 comments left with the Ladera Ranch No Bullying post as of early Wednesday afternoon. “His buddy didn't help him but I sure as hell would! Bullies are cowards! Hope the kid will be ok and the punks get theirs! Try that shit in lacy bitch!”
The post identifies Ayala and the other teen arrestee as Ladera Ranch residents who attend San Juan High School, but law enforcement has them as students at Tesoro High School in nearby Rancho Santa Margarita. Whichever school they attended, Capistrano Unified School District spokesman Stephen Nichols told KCBS/Channel 2, “It's something that we will never tolerate and it's unfortunate this had to happen.”
On the next page is the text that accompanied the Ladera Ranch No Bullying video:
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This bullying incident that was caught on video took place on Chaparral Elementary playground after school on Tuesday, May 20, 2014.
There have been rumors that this was a hoax, but it was not. This is very real.
The boy that is beaten was knocked out after the kick in the head by an 18 year old. The taller boy (age 17) proceeded to punch him in the head 8 times. You can see by his non-responsiveness that he is unconscious for all 8 hits to his face and skull.
Both of the assailants attend San Juan High School and are Ladera Ranch residents. The one being assaulted is younger and is also a LR resident. Reportedly, he suffered a concussion and has no recollection of the event. Hopefully he will not suffer any permanent brain damage, but will no doubt suffer long term trauma as a result.
Apparently his friend video recorded it but he couldn't do anything as there were about 5 other guys off camera who were threatening to beat him up too. Otherwise he most certainly would have tried to stop it.
The older boy (the smaller one who kicked him in the head and jumped on him at the end) is in OC Jail at the Theo Lacy Facility. His bail is set at $50,000 with his next court date on June 3rd. We don't have any on the Juvenile who did the punching. Hopefully he'll get charged as an adult and they'll both do time for this cowardly crime. Please share.
Zero tolerance for Bullying in Ladera Ranch!
Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.