7 East Bay teens arrested - hate crime alleged

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Jill Tucker, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, February 2, 2009

(02-01) 18:40 PST -- Brandon Manning says he never saw it coming.

One minute he was hanging out with seven seemingly friendly guys in a park, the next he said he was on the ground, the blows coming from all sides, a fist or foot landing hard enough to fracture six bones in his face.

But it was the words accompanying the blows that made Manning, 24, think he was about to die.

"Coon." And then, "How do you like this, you f-ing n-?"

A week after the Jan. 24 incident, Richmond police officers arrested seven East Bay teenagers on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon - a hate crime investigation delayed five days because of a police clerical error.

The seven are white. Manning is black.

"I don't understand how somebody could do that in this day and age," Manning said Sunday. "I never, never thought it would happen to me."

Not in California and not in the East Bay, Manning said.

The arrest of the seven, including two juveniles, brought relief after nearly a week of anxiety, medical appointments - and especially deafening silence from the police department, Manning said.

The police report documenting the incident as an assault and identifying it as a possible hate crime sat unnoticed in the wrong in-box from the morning of Jan. 24 until Thursday, when Manning's mother showed up at the Richmond Police Department to ask about the case.

Hours later, Sgt. Lori Curran and a team of investigators got the paperwork.

"Thursday afternoon, I was given the report and my guys were working on it literally through the night," she said. "They didn't go home until Friday morning at 6 a.m."

They had arrest and search warrants in hand Saturday morning. The seven suspects were arrested in Pinole, Rodeo, El Sobrante and Richmond, and booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury. Police said fists and feet were considered deadly weapons. Police also called it a hate crime.

The suspects' names were withheld pending charges later this week.

Several of the teens arrested, ranging from 17 to 19 years old, have confessed to at least some involvement, Curran said.

Manning, who works for United Parcel Service, said the incident started at a gas station in Pinole. He had gotten off work early, about 1 a.m., and didn't want to spend the 90 minutes it would take to walk home. He was looking for a ride.

The teens pulled into the station in an SUV, Manning said, and he and the driver recognized each other from a previous job. Manning said he felt no reservations about taking up an offer for a ride.

But instead of driving Manning home, the group headed for Richmond's Lamoine Park.

Still, Manning wasn't worried. "They were all cool," he said. "Everything was fine in the car."

The teens were drinking, he said, partying in the car. Manning, according to police, joined them.

Police responding to a report of fireworks encountered the group at the park and told them to leave, Curran said. The group started to walk down a hill until officers left, and then turned back to the car, Manning said.

"The next thing I know, I'm being blindsided," he said.

He found himself on the ground when the teens finally left and crawled to several nearby houses seeking help, Manning said. Finally, a resident of one of them called for an ambulance. He said he wasn't robbed.

A week later, Manning said, the left side of his face is numb. He'll see another medical specialist today for treatment.

While he still doesn't understand the initial delay in his case, he said he's grateful the investigators so quickly took action.

"They were great," he said. "It just took so long."

Curran said investigators were able to quickly identify the seven teens involved because officers had encountered the seven earlier in the evening and had checked their identification and vehicles. Then police on the routine fireworks call saw the teens again. Shortly after that, the 911 call came in on the alleged assault. Officers searched for the alleged assailants the morning of the assault but were unable to locate them.

Based on Manning's descriptions and identification from a photo lineup, the seven were identified and warrants issued, police said.

"Obviously, a clerical error was a huge deficit in terms of the time gone by," said Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan. "It should not be attributed to apathy."

E-mail Jill Tucker at jtucker@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle