Witness cannot ID attackers

The key witness in a trial against 10 black youths accused of beating three white women in Long Beach stepped down Tuesday without resolving significant contradictions in her five days of testimony.

Kiana Alford, 18, initially described to police and the court how eight of the defendants were involved in the attack. But Monday, under cross-examination, she conceded that she could not identify anyone during the incident because it was dark and she was up to 175 feet away.

Her testimony under questioning by Deputy Dist. Atty. Andrea Bouas on re-direct Tuesday did little to clear up the confusion.

Also testifying Tuesday was Long Beach Police Sgt. Ali Assef, who drove one of the victims to a parking lot where the 10 minors were detained shortly after the attack. The victim, Loren Hyman, 21, identified four of them as having been involved in the beating, he said.