| For Immediate Release Case # 12ZF0143 July 25, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718Farrah Emami Spokesperson Office: 714-347-8405 Cell: 714-323-4486
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17-YEAR-OLD CHARGED AS ADULT INDICTED BY GRAND JURY FOR STABBING-MURDER OF ANOTHER TEEN IN GROUP FIGHT
SANTA ANA – A 17-year-old charged as an adult has been indicted by the Orange County Grand Jury for the stabbing-murder of 19-year-old man in a group fight. Ryan Nichols Coale, Anaheim, was indicted on one felony count of murder and a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in state prison. Coale is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment Friday, July 25, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-5, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office and Anaheim Police Department (APD) released a press release March 21, 2012, with the following information on the Coale case:
Shortly before 7:00 p.m. on March 19, 2012, Coale is accused of being on the grounds of Sycamore Junior High School in Anaheim, playing handball with three friends while 19-year-old Edgar Cervantes played basketball with four of his friends nearby.
As Cervantes was getting ready to leave, he ran into an acquaintance with whom he’d had confrontations in the past. The acquaintance started to shout and instigate a fight with Cervantes, which led to a physical confrontation with Cervantes and his friends.
Coale is accused of joining in the fight with his friends. The defendant is accused of pulling out a small knife and stabbing Cervantes in the chest.
As the group dispersed, Cervantes’ friends noticed the victim had been stabbed and immediately transported him to Anaheim Memorial Hospital. Enroute, one of Cervantes’ friends called 911 and reported the stabbing to the APD. Cervantes succumbed to the stab wound in the hospital. Coale was arrested March 20, 2012.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Howard Gundy of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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