Opinion ID: 2639408
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Jailhouse stabbing

Text: On April 3, 1989, Joevone Elster and Mark Oropeza were incarcerated in the Los Angeles County jail and enrolled in the Honor Row, a voluntary school program for inmates. Defendant was also enrolled in the Honor Row. All enrollees had cells on the same row. On that date, Elster and Oropeza were attacked as they were returning from school to their cell row. Elster received a five- or six-inch stab wound on his left arm and a laceration to the top of his head. Oropeza suffered multiple wounds on his left arm and hand, a puncture wound behind his ear and another puncture wound to the temple. Elster testified he did not know who had stabbed him or how many people had attacked him. Oropeza likewise testified he did not know who had wounded him. Elster denied being an East Coast Crip; Oropeza admitted he and Elster were East Coast Crips, but denied telling Los Angeles Sheriffs Deputy Frank Plass, who administered the Honor Row program, or jail Deputies Reppucci and Weinman, of his gang affiliation. Elster admitted talking with Deputy Weinman immediately after the attack, but denied telling him that someone had yelled East Coast Killers at him. Oropeza denied talking with any jail deputies about the incident and even claimed he did not know what a shank was. Deputy Mark Reppucci testified that around 1:00 p.m. on April 3, 1989, after he had just finished escorting inmates back from school and was closing the gate leading to their row, he saw four menโdefendant, an inmate named Paul Brown, Elster and Oropezaโfighting. Reppucci and his partner, Deputy Weinman, told the inmates to stop fighting. When the backup summoned by Weinman arrived, the deputies broke up the fight. Reppucci searched all the inmates involved in the fight and found a shank, a jail-made stabbing device, in Brown's front pocket. Although he found nothing on defendant, defendant admitted he had thrown something down the row. Elster and Oropeza had no weapons on them. Elster told Reppucci that as he was coming back from school, Brown approached him and started shouting East Coast Killers, which Elster understood to mean that Brown and defendant killed East Coast Crips. Reppucci testified that based on his independent knowledge and defendant's tattoos with the letters K and C, defendant was a Kitchen Crip, and Elster and Oropeza were East Coast Crips. Deputy Plass testified that he interviewed and screened inmates, including defendant, who volunteered for the Honor Row program. Plass testified he made it clear to all interested inmates that participants would be required to set aside any anger and resentment towards members of rival gang-sets who might be participating in the program. He informed them that any violation of the rules would be enough to remove them from the program. When defendant was selected, he had no significant disciplinary problems and appeared eager to get into the program. In the course of investigating the assault on Elster and Oropeza, Plass interviewed defendant. After being advised of and waiving his Miranda rights, [4] defendant told Plass that he and Paul Brown, a fellow Kitchen Crip, had heard rumors that members of the East Coast Crips were going to get up at or attack the Kitchen Crips. Because defendant and Brown felt insecure in being the only Kitchen Crips on the Honor Row, they decided to strike first. Accordingly, defendant made a shank by melting an underarm deodorant container, rolling it to a desired length and thickness, and sharpening it to a point with a cutting edge. The completed weapon was four to six inches in length, with a two- to three-inch blade. The day before the attack, defendant packed all his belongings in his cell and removed the pictures from his cell walls, as ifโPlass testifiedโhe anticipated leaving the module. Then, when he, Brown, Elster and Oropeza walked onto the row after returning from school on April 3, 1989, defendant put the shank in the palm of his hand and began to punch with his fist and stab with the shank, yelling East Coast Killers. After defendant used the shank, he threw it down the freeway or corridor leading to the back of the row. Plass testified that the module was searched for the shank, without success. For deputies to fail to find such items was not uncommon, as they can easily be placed in a toilet and flushed into the main sewer system. Defendant's attitude as he told Plass what happened was cavalier; he showed no remorse and told Plass he had wanted to get as many East Coast members as he could.