Was park attack gang activity?

Prosecutor, defense argue motive in Graceada beating

By Susan Herendeen
sherendeen@modbee.com

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As the fourth day of a preliminary hearing drew to a close Wednesday, defense attorneys and a prosecutor agreed that devotees of an underground band known as Insane Clown Posse assaulted a Modesto man as he strolled through Graceada Park with his family.

But a sharp divide over the motivation for a fight that left 53-year-old William August with a leg broken in two places remained.

Deputy District Attorney Marlisa Ferreira said an assault by defendants Brandon Ferrell, 18, Joshua Huggins, 17, Kurt Petersen, 22, and Larry Williams, 20, makes sense only in the gang context.

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"Mr. August wasn't bothering anyone," she said in Stanislaus County Superior Court.

According to witnesses, Petersen ran up to August and his family about 9 p.m. March 7, received a stern rebuff because he made the family uncomfortable, and returned 10 minutes later with friends who picked a fight because their group, the Juggalos, felt disrespected.

The prosecutor said the defendants' desire to intimidate the family, along with their penchant for clothes and tattoos that have a cartoon hatchet man taken from their favorite band's logo, shows that they are part of a gang.

She noted that the gang remains small: The authorities have documented 38 Juggalos as gang members in Stanislaus County, and Ferreira could point to just four juvenile cases since 2001 in which people claiming to be Juggalos committed crimes.

But she insisted the Juggalos are a growing threat.

"It is an up-and-coming gang," Ferreira said. "It's growing strong in numbers and criminal activity."

Defense attorneys said their clients got drunk, behaved badly and were pulled off August by other Juggalos who took a dim view of such fighting.

They said the Juggalos share a devotion to bands promoted by the Psychopathic Record label and sometimes paint their faces with crazy clown makeup. But they insisted that Ferrell, Huggins, Petersen and Williams are not members of a gang.

"Every group has criminal individuals in it, but whether a group is a criminal street gang or not depends on the collective criminality of the group as a unit," said attorney Martin Baker, who represents Williams. "Whatever you want to call this group of people who banded together and beat the snot out of Mr. August, it was not a criminal street gang."

Judge Dawna Frenchie Reeves' ruling will determine if the defendants should stand trial for an assault that caused great bodily injury or an assault causing great bodily injury that was done for the benefit of the criminal street gang.

The gang enhancement, if found true, would tack on more time to an assault conviction.

Instead of ruling from the bench, a common practice, the judge said she will read relevant case law submitted by the attorneys and issue a ruling May 8.

The defendants remain free on their own recognizance.

Bee staff writer Susan Herendeen can be reached at sherendeen@modbee.com or 578-2338.