Week one of Seth Cravens' trial has seen emotional testimony about the night Emery Kauanui was beaten up outside his La Jolla home. His injuries would eventually prove fatal.
Seth Cravens is accused of throwing the deadly punch. Day five of his trial, however, had little to do with that night. Instead, prosecutors may be trying to show a history of violence for Cravens.
"All I know is he sucker punched me from the side," testified Ryan Granger on Friday.
Granger claims Cravens attacked him at a New Year's Eve house party in Pacific Beach in 2005. Granger says the punch came shortly after an argument over a spilled beer. Granger never called police to report the incident. Today, in court, he said one reason was because of Cravens's reputation. He did not elaborate.
Also on the stand Friday was Eric Sorenson. Sorenson is a naval officer who lived in La Jolla in 2005. He claims in June of that year, a friend of Seth Cravens, Eric Wright, punched Sorenson's roommate. Sorenson says the same day, or day after his roommate got out of the hospital, Wright came back to the house. He claims they threatened his life, and tried to enter the house. "They kicked over the motorcycle. They kicked over the trash cans. It was just all hell breaking lose," said Sorenson. "I felt my life was immediately threatened." Sorenson testified one of the men at his house that night may have been Seth Cravens.
The days final witness was August Essner. Essner claims during the summer of 2006, he, a friend, and that friend's girlfriend were at a beach near Windansea in La Jolla. He says two men he'd never seen approached them and told them to leave. Essner says one man threw a beer in his face, and a fight broke out between himself, his friend, and the two strangers. "Next thing I know, there was like six guys that came around one of these little cove rocks. Someone else threw another beer can at my head. Chris went to the ground. People were kicking him," Essner testified.
However, when asked by the defense attorney if Cravens was one of the men on the beach that day, Essner said he wasn't sure. Sorenson also could not say with certainty if Cravens was outside his house that night in La Jolla. Only Granger testified he was sure he'd been a victim of Seth Cravens.
Testimony will continue on Monday.
