Teens accused in Chula Vista taco shop beating to remain in Juvenile Hall

Four teenage boys accused of beating another boy in a Chula Vista taco shop — footage of which made its way around social media — will remain in Juvenile Hall, a San Diego judge decided Monday.

The decision by Superior Court Judge Richard Monroy to hold each of the boys in custody came as the teens were arraigned in Juvenile Court in San Diego. Each boy pleaded not guilty to assault likely to produce great bodily injury.

The four teens — ages 15 to 17 — and two young adults are accused of beating and stomping a 16-year-old boy sitting with his girlfriend at the Cotixan Mexican Restaurant after school April 11. Police said the attack left the victim with a broken wrist.

The attack was recorded and shared online, catching media attention and helping Chula Vista police identify suspects.

The two adults, ages 18 and 19, pleaded not guilty last week to assault likely to produce great bodily injury and battery charges. The 18-year-old is also accused of assault with a deadly weapon. Both adults remain jailed in lieu of $100,000.

At the time of the attack, the juveniles were students at Morse High School, and the two adults attended an alternative school on the Morse High campus.

In announcing the arrests last week, Chula Vista police Capt. Phil Collum said the attack appears related to a dispute that started last month after a “heated exchange on social media over comments made to one of the victim’s friends.”

Collum said investigators believe the six suspects went to the taco shop to attack the unsuspecting victim.

No new details about the case were disclosed Monday during the individual arraignments in Juvenile Court, although Deputy District Attorney Jack Yeh characterized one of the juvenile defendants, age 17, as the ringleader.

After the hearing, Yeh said the assault charge each juvenile defendant faces carries a potential sentence up to four years.

Each boy also faces allegations that the assault constituted a serious felony — allegations that could add as much as three years to the sentence if convicted, and put a strike on each boy’s record.

Only the most serious charge the juveniles face was made public. Yeh declined to say whether the boys face additional charges.

Juvenile Court is focused not on punishment, but rehabilitation. Also, there is no bail in Juvenile Court. A child is either released to their parents or guardian or kept in custody pending trial.

It is also secretive by design, and most hearings are held behind closed doors. Some charges, however, are serious enough that news reporters can petition the court to attend proceedings, as was the case on Monday.

The parents of victim, an Otay Ranch High School sophomore, attended Monday’s arraignments.

Last week, the victim and his family held what they billed as an anti-bullying rally outside the taco shop on East Palomar Street.

“It was horrifying, I thought I was going to be dead any second,” the victim said at the event. “I thought I was going to pass out and they were going to keep on kicking me ‘til I stopped breathing.”

The four juvenile defendants are due back in court May 1. However, one of them is scheduled to return to court Wednesday for his attorney to ask the judge to reconsider his release.