Athlete Injured in Mob Attack Changes Schools

SANTA ANA —  Citing the potential for problems with classmates, the parents of a black youth who was severely beaten during an attack in Portola Hills have pulled him out of Santa Margarita High School.

Melvin Aaron, the father of 15-year-old Ruben Charles Vaughan III, said his son enrolled at Foothill High School in Santa Ana last week because of concerns that some students at Santa Margarita High may have played a role in the Aug. 5 attack.

“We feel, given the situation and what occurred, it would be foolhardy to put him back in that environment,” said Aaron, a professor at Cal State Long Beach. “We would like to believe this was a random incident, but there are some clear indications of premeditation in this.”

Vaughn, a varsity football player, plans to play football at Foothill, where he will start his sophomore year.

The 15-year-old Tustin youth suffered a broken jaw, nose and several stab wounds in an attack described by Laguna Niguel Municipal Judge Pamela L. Iles as “one of the most vicious I’ve seen in a long time.” The attack, which Iles said should be prosecuted as a hate crime, left Vaughan hospitalized for three days.

Authorities said Vaughan and three other Santa Margarita High School students were attacked by 20 to 30 youths, most of them from the Lake Forest area, looking for a “flyer party” that never materialized.

The three friends escaped, while Vaughan faced the group alone, according to investigators.

Aaron said he was concerned that his son has enemies at Santa Margarita High School who helped set him up to be beaten.

“He had a great number of friends there, but apparently he had some who disliked him,” Aaron said. “It only takes a few for something like this to happen.”

Two men have been charged in the beating. Derek Thomas Jones, 20, of Huntington Beach has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, causing great bodily injury and attempting to influence a witness.

Russell T. Scarce, 19, of Lake Forest is charged with causing great bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a minor.

Both men are being held in Orange County Jail on $100,000 bail. They are to appear in Orange County Superior Court on the charges on Sept. 12.

A 16-year-old Lake Forest youth also has been arrested in the attack.

After reviewing the evidence, the Orange County district attorney’s office decided Aug. 25 not to prosecute the attack as a hate crime. But Deputy Dist. Atty. Bruce Patterson said Friday that his office was reconsidering the decision in light of Judge Iles’ comments.

Aaron said his son’s transfer had nothing to do with the football program at private Santa Margarita High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, where Vaughan played as a freshman last year.

“Ruben had a very good relationship with (Santa Margarita) Coach Jim Hartigan,” Aaron said.

Vaughan will play football for Foothill and has participated in light drills during the past week. He is expected to be in uniform when Foothill opens the season Friday night against rival Tustin High.

“He’s cleared” to play, Foothill Coach Tom Meiss said. “But we’re going to take it slow with him. Everything is fine except a metal plate in his jaw. His body seems to be OK. We just want to make sure he doesn’t get his jaw hit.”

“He’s been on a special workout program but he’s not going to go full tilt yet,” Aaron said. “He’s lost about 20 pounds. And his jaw isn’t fully healed yet.”

Meiss said Vaughan will play tight end and linebacker at Foothill. He isn’t expected to play until the Knights meet Newport Harbor on Sept. 16.