Features

SAN DIEGO — A Superior Court judge has dismissed hate-crime charges against four San Diego County men who were accused of beating an Orange County man because they thought he was Mexican. 

Judge Laura Palmer Hammes said there was insufficient evidence to prove the Dec. 30 beating near the U.S.-Mexico border was racially motivated. 

However, Hammes said Monday it was one of the worst beating cases she had come across and said the suspects should have faced charges of attempted murder. 

She ordered the four to stand trial on mayhem, attempted robbery and other charges. 

Prosecutor Hector Jimenez had contended that brothers Ben and Jeremiah Pospisil, Jason Phillips and Kristopher Gill attacked Steven Pappas because they thought he was Mexican. 

During a two-day preliminary hearing, a witness said several epithets were used during the attack and Gill at one point said “white power.” 

Gill’s attorney, Lisa Bowman, said the attack was not a hate-crime but a drunken brawl. 

Hammes noted that Pappas, who is of Italian and Mexican heritage, looks white and that a friend who was with him and is a minority was not the focus of the attack. 

Pappas suffered a broken jaw and significant eye injuries in the attack. He also lost much of his nose, destroying his sense of smell.