(The following appeared on the Daily Democrat website on November 13.)
WOODLAND, Calif. — Four of the five West Sacramento youths who were accused in the assault of an Amtrak engineer were convicted Thursday afternoon.
The defendants allegedly stopped a passenger Amtrak train on its way through West Sacramento on April 16, 2007. When the train engineer got out of the train, they attacked him with a fire extinguisher, vodka bottles and stones. He suffered from internal and external injuries. The train’s conductor was also assaulted.
Pauliton Nunes, 20, who was apprehended after the charges were made, was found guilty of attempted voluntary manslaughter. He was also found guilty of multiple felony counts.
Austen Nunes, 19, and Orlando Ramos, 16, were also found guilty on attempted manslaughter as well as several felony counts.
The two Nunes and Ramos face sentences of up to 15 years in prison.
Daniel Bonge, 19, was found guilty on 10 felony counts including assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism and criminal street gang activity. He faces a possible sentence of 13 years in prison.
Robert Reynolds, 17, was acquitted on all 14 counts. Judge Timothy Fall said he was free to leave the juvenile hall.
All five defendants were validated Broderick Boys gang members, the Yolo County District Attorney’s office said at the time of the arrests. The original crime had occurred during the height of District Attorney Jeff Reisig’s attempt to place an injunction on the Broderick Boys gang in West Sacramento.
Fall said sentencing is tentatively scheduled on Dec. 15 at 9 a.m.