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Livermore Teenager Is Near Death Two suspects held in attack on boys over cigarettes Chronicle Staff Report |
Thursday, December 31, 1998
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A late-night fight over cigarettes has put a 16-year-old Livermore boy in the hospital on life-support and two suspects in jail for suspicion of murder.
``The machine is keeping him alive,'' Livermore police Lieutenant Larry Morrison said yesterday. ``The indication here is that he will not recover from the injuries.''
The police refused to identify the victim or his 16-year-old friend who witnessed Tuesday night's assault near the railroad tracks in the 1300 block of Ventura Avenue.
The two teenagers came across a group of five young people, including 20-year-old suspect Jeron Englin and the 16-year-old unidentified suspect, said police Sergeant Scott Robertson.
The victim's friend knew the younger suspect, and the groups chatted for a while before someone in the larger group asked the two boys for cigarettes. They complied, but refused to hand over more shortly afterward when they wanted to leave, police said.
The victim and his friend were showered with rocks while walking away. But when the victim threw a rock back, Englin allegedly crossed over the tracks with the other suspect and punched the victim in the face, knocking him backward onto the asphalt, Robertson said.
The victim suffered severe brain trauma and was taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, he said.
Englin has a criminal record and was recently released from Santa Rita Jail after serving time for possession of stolen property from a residential burglary, Robertson said.
