'Gladiator fight' cases against L.A. juvenile hall staffers are falling apart - BERITAJA

More than a twelvemonth aft California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced indictments against 30 probation officers accused of coordinating aliases allowing alleged “gladiator fights” betwixt youths wrong L.A. County juvenile halls, almost half of the criminal cases are falling apart.

In caller weeks, authorities prosecutors dismissed charges against astatine slightest 10 of the 30 officers from the first indictment, according to tribunal documents and interviews pinch defense attorneys. An further 4 officers entered into plea deals Tuesday that will extremity pinch their cases dropped aft completing organization service.

Attorneys for the officers and probation national officials said the prosecutions were an overreaction to a video — first published by The Times successful 2024 — that showed officers opinionated by arsenic respective youths pummeled a chap inmate astatine Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall successful Downey.

“I judge the lawsuit was a reactionary lawsuit that was overcharged,” said lawyer Adam Koppekin, who represents an serviceman whose lawsuit was dismissed. “They swept successful a bunch of genuinely guiltless probation officers who were pursuing directives and doing their jobs.”

Two officers astatine the halfway of the Los Padrinos conflict video — identified successful tribunal filings arsenic Taneha Brooks and Shawn Smyles — stay charged pinch aggregate counts of kid maltreatment and conspiracy to perpetrate willful cruelty against children. In the information video, the 2 officers could beryllium seen laughing and shaking hands pinch the assailants. The 17-year-old who was attacked successful the video suffered a surgery chemoreceptor and a concussion, according to a summary of his expansive assemblage grounds contained successful a mobility revenge successful the case.

Brooks has many times declined to speak to Times reporters. She showed up successful tribunal Tuesday successful support of the different officers. E-mails to her lawyer and a lawyer representing Smyles were not instantly returned.

Taneha Brooks, an L.A. County probation serviceman listed arsenic the apical suspect successful the “Gladiator Fight” case, leaves the Clara Foltzridge Criminal Justice Center connected Tuesday, April 7, 2026 successful Los Angeles, CA. Brooks has been accused of orchestrating and allowing galore of the fights betwixt juveniles successful L.A. County detention centers that sparked the California Department of Justice’s investigation. Her lawsuit will beryllium heard successful May.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Bonta said erstwhile announcing charges past twelvemonth that his agency had identified 69 different conflict incidents involving about 150 youths betwixt the ages of 12 and 18. The 30 officers were indicted connected 71 counts of conspiracy, artillery and kid abuse.

But galore of those different fights were different from the 2023 video successful that they lasted only seconds, progressive minimal injuries and ended aft probation officers intervened, according to defense motions and video reviewed by The Times.

The Times confirmed that authorities prosecutors dismissed charges against 10 officers successful caller weeks done interviews pinch attorneys and 2 rule enforcement sources who said connected the information of anonymity to talk an ongoing investigation.

Court documents reviewed by The Times showed that immoderate of the cases were dismissed “in the liking of justice” aft motions revenge by the authorities lawyer general’s office. Records of those officers’ arrests were past ordered sealed, the documents show.

In a connection Tuesday, the lawyer general’s agency said it adjusts its curen of defendants “based connected our continued information of each grounds developed before, during and aft criminal charges were initiated.”

“Some defendants were appropriately dismissed from the lawsuit based connected the rule arsenic applied to their actual circumstances,” the connection said.

Amid the dismissals and plea deals, Bonta’s critics questioned his fittingness to take complete the probation section to enforce needed reforms, a move the lawyer wide has been seeking tribunal support to make since past year.

“What we are seeing raises existent questions about a unreserved to judgment, 1 that has already had the effect of maligning an full occupation without the facts being afloat vetted,” Curtis Chambers, president of the national that represents rank-and-file probation officers, said successful a statement. “When cases statesman to autumn isolated aft being precocious truthful publicly, it is adjacent to inquire whether the process itself was flawed from the outset.”

Motions to disregard charges successful the lawsuit overgarment immoderate of the officers arsenic rookies deferring to their superiors. Defense attorneys for others questioned why authorities prosecutors charged officers who grounded to intervene successful fights that were successful effect complete earlier they began.

The Times reviewed video of 1 incident that showed a fistfight betwixt 2 youths that lasted 20 seconds. In the little dust-up, the teens propulsion a bid of chaotic hooks astatine each different pinch fewer of the punches really making contact. The serviceman charged successful that incident concisely paused earlier joining a crowd of different officers who pulled the 2 apart. That officer, whose lawsuit has since been dismissed, was charged pinch 2 counts of willful cruelty to a child.

The indictments — on pinch a civilian suit and expansive assemblage grounds referenced successful motions to disregard the charges — represent Brooks and Smyles arsenic the main drivers of the fights.

They told different officers who were present, each of them rookies successful the juvenile halls, “not to opportunity anything, constitute down anything, and conscionable watch erstwhile younker fights occurred,” according to the charges.

One juvenile told expansive jurors he was “incentivized to fight” by Brooks and claimed some officers “rewarded him for fighting by giving him other snacks,” according to a mobility to disregard revenge connected behalf of 1 officer.

According to the tribunal filing, the juvenile told the expansive assemblage that Brooks awarded typical jobs to kids she favored.

“He testified Ms. Brooks would prime the ‘KP’ aliases room patrol personification based upon that person’s fighting prowess,” the mobility said.

A Times investigation past twelvemonth found the believe of probation officers rewarding teens who hit up different youths successful custody was a problem that predated the “Gladiator Fight” scandal, pinch 1 lawyer calling it an “open secret.”

Jonathan Evans, who represents Officer Isaiah Goodie, said his customer was specifically told by Brooks and Smyles not to break up fights.

“They were seeing that these kids from different neighborhoods were going to conflict anyhow and they were uncovering a measurement to get it retired of their system,” Evans said of the elder officers’ training of his client.

Two rule enforcement officials told The Times that Brooks and Smyles had been investigated for allowing fights to hap years earlier while assigned to Central Juvenile Hall. It was unclear what, if any, subject they faced.

One of the cases that will beryllium dismissed aft a plea statement progressive a high-ranking officer, 54-year-old Ramses Patron. He was charged pinch kid maltreatment for failing to extremity a conflict that lasted little than 10 seconds, according to a mobility to dismiss. His attorney, Tom Yu, based on that the authorities had wrongly accused galore officers of readying fights that either occurred spontaneously aliases were arranged by Brooks and Smyles.

Patron must service 40 hours of organization work and past his lawsuit will beryllium dismissed. Yu said his customer has served the Probation Department for 30 years pinch a “spotless record” and the indictment upended his life.

“There’s nary words to picture what my customer and his family went through,” Yu said.

Indicted probation serviceman Ramses Patron, center, stands pinch his lawyer Tom Yu, right, pleading nary title successful the “Gladiator Fights” case.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Advocates for the officers whose cases were dismissed said they had suffered superior harm to their finances and reputations, pinch each placed connected time off without salary for much than a year.

“County labor are entitled to owed process. To the grade that charges are reduced aliases dismissed, labor whitethorn person the correct to activity reinstatement aliases backmost pay,” said Vicky Waters, communications head for the Probation Department.

Several defense attorneys credited the authorities prosecutors for scrutinizing the charges much thoroughly and yet deciding that immoderate of the cases did not walk the smell test.

“Everybody would emotion an apology letter,” said defense lawyer Bart Kasperowicz. “They did this elephantine witch hunt expanse and efficaciously changed the lives of 30 group and each the group that dangle connected them.”