4 Plead Guilty To Lesser Charges In Hawaii Surfers Death
SAN DIEGO — In California, four of five young men originally charged in the slaying of professional surfer Emery Kauanui have pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
The men had faced up to life in prison if convicted of murder in the beating death of the 24-year-old surfer from Kauai.
Kauanui was killed outside his mother’s home in an affluent San Diego area neighborhood after a fight at a bar last year.
Eric House, Orlando Osuna and Matthew Yanke pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and misdemeanor battery.
Henri Hendricks pleaded guilty to a felony of being an accessory to the death.
Remaining defendant Seth Cravens, alleged to be the ringleader, re-entered a not-guilty plea after his attorney rejected a plea offer from prosecutors.