Simas Found Guilty in ’93 Slaying

A judge found 24-year-old West Hollywood chef Ryan Simas guilty of second-degree murder Monday, saying that even though he was not the one who killed Ventura High School student Jesse Strobel during a fight seven years ago he could have expected the assault to end in death.

Capping the three-week nonjury trial, Juvenile Court Judge Brian Back rejected character testimony suggesting that Simas, then 16, and five other teenagers had merely been out that night for “good clean fun,” visiting a local golf course and a skateboard park before taking a drive.

“Between four and six guys jumped out of the darkness of night, engaging in an attack on someone who by others’ testimony did nothing,” Back said. “Murder was a natural and probable consequence.”

Because he was a minor at the time of the crime, Simas, who lives in Los Angeles and is a chef at Spago restaurant in West Hollywood, could be released from state custody when he turns 25 in about six months. Lawyers said the most time he could serve would be two years. Simas will also have a felony strike on his record.

Several hours after the ruling, the Strobel family said it has petitioned state Sen. Jack O’Connell (D-San Luis Obispo) to seek legislation that could push sentences past the age of 25 for adults tried in juvenile court for major crimes they committed as minors. They would hope to have the law called “Jesse’s Law,” said Jesse’s grandfather, John Strobel.

“It would be more fair for them to serve the time” they would have had if they had been tried at the time of the crime, he said. “If we are successful in getting the law changed, Jesse deserves whatever memory comes. I thought it could be a tribute.”

Simas had been charged with murder and a special allegation that the slaying occurred during a robbery attempt, an additional charge that Back said the prosecution was unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

“It’s a mixed verdict. I knew we were close on proving robbery,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Simon said. “I would have liked to get that conviction.”

Defense lawyer Richard Millard said he would appeal the murder conviction.

“I respectfully disagree, and I think the judge misinterpreted the facts,” Millard said. “This all happened in a few seconds. You have [to think of] Ryan Simas’ state of mind.”

Millard has said in court that a “scuffle” started between the group and Strobel, and that when Simas drove away from the scene he did not realize that Strobel had been stabbed.

His client “honestly does not understand, based on what happened that night, how that could make him a murderer,” Millard said.

Some of Simas’ relatives cried softly as it became clear during Back’s remarks that he would find Simas guilty. As families filed out of the courtroom, one of Simas’ supporters made a remark that started a short war of words between them and the Strobel family.

After the verdict, John Strobel, the victim’s father, rushed from the courtroom, muttering, “Second-degree doesn’t do it.” Other members of the family said they were happy with the judge’s decision.

“It’s a little less than we expected, but we’re pleased with the result,” said Strobel’s grandfather. Although some of the family was disappointed, “they’ll come to realize it gives [us] a chance to look forward to the rest of the summer without all this pain.”

Simas’ trial began seven years after the slaying of Strobel, a popular football player whose death stunned the community. Strobel, 17, was fatally stabbed in the chest after being attacked by the carload of teenagers while walking home from his father’s pizzeria in the Pierpont section of Ventura on Jan. 29, 1993.

A 23-year-old Santa Paula gang member, Jose “Pepe” Castillo, later admitted stabbing Strobel and pleaded guilty to murder last summer. Prosecutors continued to go after Simas, saying he participated in the fight, drove the getaway car and lied to police, throwing the investigation off track for years.

Simas will be sentenced at the end of the month.