Two 14-year-olds, who have been charged in a fatal assault on a Moreno Valley middle school student in 2019, will not be kept behind bars, a California judge ruled Friday.
Instead of jail time, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Roger A. Luebs imposed probation terms that include therapy for anger management issues, impulsivity and a lack of empathy. He released the boys to their parents, and warned them to strictly follow his orders.
"Please test me. I will accept the test,” Luebs said and also labeled bloody video games as “trash” that prompt violence and urged all parents to “grow a spine” and not be overly permissive with their children, reported The Press-Enterprise.
A hearing was scheduled for June 25 to check whether the families are following the probation terms.
“We can do that or we can make a reservation for them in state prison now,” Luebs said.
The judge said he is required to sentence juveniles in the least restrictive manner that will result in both rehabilitation and public safety.
Luebs rejected the Probation Department’s recommendation that the boys receive therapy while in custody.
When the 13-year-old Diego Stolz died, there was public outrage.
“I know that my decision will not make everyone happy. In fact, it will probably make some people in the community angry,” the judge said.
As expected, many people were not happy about the judge ordering no prison time for the boys.
"Diego Stolz is DEAD! No 18th birthday for Diego! WTF is wrong with the US legal system?" one tweeted.
Another wrote, "This is a bunch of b------t. They got 150 hours of community service, anger management, social media ban, and have to write and apology letter AFTER the judge said the boys showed NO F---ING REMORSE. Diego Stolz deserved justice."
Stolz’s family members, on the other hand, did not comment on the sentences.
Luebs said reports from psychologists described the boys as lacking empathy and said the boys blamed Stolz and peer pressure for the attack. He held them responsible for planning and carrying out the assault but said that he believes the boys did not have any intention to kill the youngster.
“These kids have not had enough experience delivering empathy. You guys are not the center of the world and you guys need to start figuring that out,” Luebs told the teenagers.
Later, attorneys for both boys said that they are remorseful.
Speaking on behalf of one of the boys', David Wohl said if his client’s statements to investigators seemed to lack remorse, it was because he was stunned by the immature death. “The idea that they didn’t go to youth prison shouldn’t be seen as a slap on the wrist,” he said.
The teens have spent at least 47 days in custody and it "really shook him up,” said the other boy’s attorney Ricson Dakanay.
The attack was video taped by a student. In the video, the three boys were seen outside classrooms on Sept. 16, 2019. One boy hit Stolz in the head from behind. Stolz, who had been standing with his hands at his side, fell and hit his head against a pillar. But the two boys continued to punch Stolz. Stolz got unconscious after the attack. He was pronounced dead nine days later from a brain injury.
His family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the boys’ families, Moreno Valley Unified and others. The family said the school did not take any action after they told Landmark Assistant Principal Kamilah O’Connor days before the attack that the boys were bullying Stolz. The family said that O’Connor promised to suspend the boys. But they were in school the day of the attack.
O’Connor is one of the defendants in the lawsuit. O’Connor and principal Scott Walker were replaced a month and a half after the attack.
“To the victims, there’s not much else I can say other than I’m so sorry. I’m sorry there isn’t more I could do to address your loss,” Luebs told Stolz’s family at the end of the hearing.
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