San Clemente Youth Speared in Head Dies

SAN CLEMENTE — Steve Woods, the 17-year-old San Clemente High School student who was speared through the head with a paint-roller rod in an attack at a beach parking lot three weeks ago, died Tuesday morning at Kaiser Permanente Hospital-Orange County in Anaheim.

Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi promptly vowed to upgrade the felony assault charges pending against two young men and four juveniles accused in the attack.

“We are going to file homicide charges,” Capizzi said, which could range from murder to manslaughter. “That will be done sometime between now and Nov. 23,” the next scheduled court appearance for two of the six suspects.

The victim’s 26-year-old sister, Shellie Woods, said she and a friend were at her brother’s bedside when he died.

“We held his hand until the end,” Woods said.

She said that on Thursday, Woods’ brain had begun swelling and he lost normal body functions. “I think we lost him last Thursday--that is, his true self,” Woods said. “We kept the (respirator) on him, and it didn’t do any good.”

“We just can’t really take it right now,” Woods explained. “My mother is very upset, and although we knew it was coming, the reality of it was like. . .”

Woods said that whatever charges are filed in the case, she believes that “this is murder.”

Woods was attacked Oct. 15 at Calafia Beach County Park after a Friday night high school football game.

According to police reports, the attack occurred after two groups of young people argued. Some of those arrested told police it was sparked by an altercation the day before between a gang member and someone in Woods’ group.

Woods’ group tried to drive out of the lot past the suspects near the entrance, but police said their vehicles were showered with rocks, bottles and other items, including at least two paint rollers. Some of those arrested told police they thought the vehicles were driving straight toward them.

In the confrontation, a rod from a roller pierced Woods’ skull, entering above the ear, passing through the brain and causing severe damage. He had been in a coma since the attack.

Arturo Villalobos, 20, who currently faces 10 counts of felony assault and one of throwing a projectile at a moving vehicle, told police he had thrown a “paint roller . . . at the last car” in Woods’ group.

All of those charged in the attack, like Villalobos, have pleaded not guilty, and one of their defense attorneys called the incident “a freak accident.”

But prosecutors said that evidence indicates that the paint roller was not thrown, but was in the hand of Woods’ assailant when it struck him.

“It’s a tragic loss of life,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Gary Paer, who is prosecuting the case.

Shirley MacDonald, the court-appointed defense attorney for one of the four juveniles charged in the attack, said she had discussed the possibility of Woods dying with Paer.

“I know the newspapers have quoted him before as saying he would file murder charges,” MacDonald said, “but in my talks, he said to me and other defense attorneys that any additional charges would be a lesser homicide charge, like manslaughter.”

The facts of the case, MacDonald said, don’t support murder charges, which would require prosecutors to prove that the assailants intended to kill Woods.

“There was no intent,” MacDonald said, “and that’s clear from the initial police reports and from what the victim, victims and from what the defendants said.”

Mona Ziada, spokesperson for Kaiser Permanente, declined to discuss the immediate cause of Steve Woods’ death or whether life support had been disconnected, because of the “legal ramifications.” She said only that he never came out of the coma.

At San Clemente High School, reaction to Woods’ death was somber.

“Most students, when they heard the news, were very quiet,” said Principal Christopher Cairns.

Cairns said he “spoke to some students who I knew who were very close to Steve. I broke the news to one young lady, and she in turn told other friends. I saw her before the noon hour and she was bringing several of her friends over to talk to our school counselor.”

A memorial service is pending.

Students who began soliciting donations to help defray medical expenses or to offer as a scholarship or for some other purpose have raised $1,400.

The attack on Woods sparked outrage in San Clemente, leading to a series of meetings, marches and demonstrations to protest gangs and youth violence.

Karen Lott, a 45-year-old Lake Forest mother who took her Green Ribbon campaign to fight youth violence to San Clemente after Woods was injured, expressed sorrow upon hearing the news.

“No child should ever be killed for some senseless reason,” Lott said.

Lott’s own son was shot four times at a recent party but survived.

Feelings ran high throughout the city following the Woods attack:

* Some Latino students at San Clemente High School said they felt considerable hostility as a result of Lott’s Green Ribbon campaign, feeling that they were automatically being accused of being gang members or their supporters.

* The Woods family’s backers criticized the Green Ribbon campaign for not supporting one of their demonstrations.

* An attorney for one of the juveniles charged in Woods’ attack reported a death threat to police.

“We’re hoping that this will put a close to the tragedy, and the healing process can begin for the community,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Martini. “There’s been a lot of emotion, and it’s going to take some time.”

Times staff writer Leslie Berkman contributed to this report.

* CRIME PACKAGE: U.S. Senate backs a ban on handguns for juveniles. A3