In re A.J. CA2/6

STATEMENT OF FACTS

On March 2, 2020, appellant and A.M. were students at Fairfax High School. Appellant and several other boys approached A.M. and asked him where he was from. Appellant replied that his parents were from Mexico and denied any gang affiliation. Appellant and his companions searched A.M. and his backpack, then left after a security guard saw them. The next day, A.M. was walking to class with a friend when they were approached by I.S., who had recently mocked and ridiculed appellant’s hairstyle. I.S. said a friend had told him that appellant wanted to fight him, and appellant denied that he wanted to do so. A.M. started to turn around and felt a hard punch to the back of his head. His vision went blurry but he was able to see that appellant was his assailant. Appellant, who is taller and bigger than A.M., repeatedly punched A.M. in the face, arms, and hands and “kneed” his lower body. A five-second cellphone video depicting part of the assault was played during the adjudication hearing. A.M., who presented the video to the court, that testified he never hit appellant back and “did not get up until I saw his friends pull him off of me.” A.M. also denied that he had…