Man in ’86 Pier Riot Given a Year in Jail, Banned From Beach

A 19-year-old beachgoer with no prior criminal record was sentenced Friday to 345 days in jail for assaulting a police officer during the Huntington Beach riot last Labor Day. And he was ordered not to set foot on any Orange County beach for three years after his release.

Sean Boles, convicted last month on the assault charge, was one of 13 people arrested during the melee near the Huntington Beach Pier, which reportedly started after some young men tried to take off two women’s bikini tops. Boles was not accused of being involved in that initial incident.

“He didn’t start it, but he certainly helped keep it going,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher J. Evans said.

The riot occurred on the final day of the Op Pro Surfing Championships. More than 40 people were injured, including nearly a dozen police officers.

Boles, who is from Yucca Valley, was accused of throwing a bottle at a line of police officers in riot gear trying to control the disturbance. One misdemeanor assault charge was dismissed during Boles’ trial, and he was acquitted by the jury of another misdemeanor assault charge.

Police Testimony

Superior Court Judge Robert C. Todd, sitting in Harbor Court, Newport Beach, also dismissed a charge of instigating a riot, filed by prosecutors, because of the circumstances of the confrontation between Boles and police. Jurors heard testimony from a police officer who said Boles encouraged the crowd to throw loose bottles at police.

The officer also testified that Boles yelled, “Kill the pigs!”

The sentence imposed by Todd was tougher than the one requested by prosecutor Evans, who had asked for a jail term of six to eight months.

Under the terms of Todd’s sentence, Boles will be given credit for 80 days already spent in jail on $10,000 bail after his arrest and before his trial. He will have to serve another nine months.

He also was sentenced to three years of formal probation after he is released from jail and fined $100.

Todd warned Boles that he could be sent to state prison for four years if he violates any law during his three years of probation or breaks any terms of the probation. Among those terms are provisions barring him from any beach between the San Diego and Los Angeles county lines and ordering him not to initiate any contact with a police officer in Orange County.

Todd said Boles had demonstrated “an unusual hatred and anger at police.” He also said Boles had refused to admit guilt and had shown no remorse during an interview for a sentencing report.

Prosecutor Evans said he was “pleased with the sentence--it was more than I had hoped for.”

However, Boles’ attorney, Ronald Hall, was not happy.

“I thought it was harsh,” Hall said. “I’m not so sure Mr. Boles actually dislikes police officers and that if he does have this dislike . . . he should be subjected to treatment such as counseling.”

Boles is free now on his own recognizance and is scheduled to begin serving his sentence July 2.

While the judge does not have the authority to specify where Boles will serve his time within the county’s jail system, Evans said he probably will be sent to the James A. Musick Honor Farm near El Toro.