Multiple teens have been arrested in San Clemente on charges that they beat three Marines badly over the weekend.
The city’s mayor, Chris Duncan, said that nine teens had been charged by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in connection with the beating. Five of the suspects were charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and sent to juvenile hall. The other four were charged with attack and battery, which is a minor crime.
“Most of the time, they don’t lock up kids for minor offenses,” said Duncan. “They will go through the process while they are out of custody.”
Duncan said that the main suspects in the case have been caught by police.
“They think they have the people they are looking for,” Duncan said. “That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few others out there. They are pretty sure they know who the main culprits are.”
The Marines said that they were walking along the pier at about 9:50 p.m. on Saturday when they asked a group of teenagers to stop setting off fireworks. Hunter Antonino, one of the people who said they were Marines and were attacked, said that the circle of attackers “stomped on” and beat up the three people.
The tweet below verifies the news:
9 juveniles charged, 5 in custody in California beating of US Marines, mayor sayshttps://t.co/yecWR6fZss
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 31, 2023
The brutal beating was caught on video by bystanders, who showed the Marines lying on the ground in the fetal position, desperately trying to block the kicks.
Investigators were able to find the teens involved by using the film.
Duncan said, “They had some videotape that wasn’t easy for the public to see that showed the people involved in a much better light.”
Orange County officers and the local school district worked together to find out who the suspects were by comparing the photos to school records.
“In this day and age, you’ll get caught because someone will record it,” said Duncan. “I hope this shows young people in the community that when something like this happens, they shouldn’t let things get out of hand.”
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