Bird Rock Bandit Convict Gets Probation in Domestic Violence Case

A man who served time behind bars for his role in a La Jolla street fight that left a professional surfer dead in 2007 pleaded guilty Friday to violating a court order stemming from a domestic violence case involving his girlfriend and was sentenced to probation and ordered to stay away from her.

The convict—Eric House, 25—also was ordered to perform 10 days of public work service and complete a yearlong domestic violence program.

He could be sentenced to 90 days in jail if he violates terms of his three-year probation, according to city prosecutors.

House was charged with misdemeanor battery and a restraining order violation in connection with the June 24 incident at his girlfriend's Pacific Beach apartment. He posted $10,000 bail the next day, but failed to show up for arraignment Aug. 6, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

At the time of House's arrest in June, police Detective Gary Hassen said the 23-year-old woman apparently did not require hospital treatment due to the altercation at her Chalcedony Street residence.

She had previously obtained a restraining order against him.

On May 24, 2007, House and four other members of a hard-partying group of surfing buddies calling themselves the “Bird Rock Bandits” got into a scuffle with acclaimed Hawaii-born surfer Emery Kauanui.

The brawl ended when one of House’s cohorts, Seth Cravens of La Jolla, punched Kauanui, causing him to fall over backward and crack his skull on the pavement in front of his Draper Avenue home.

Kauanui, 24, died in a hospital four days later.

In late 2008, a then-22-year-old Cravens was convicted of second-degree murder, in addition to assault and battery in connection with violent acts dating back to 2005. Three months later, he was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

House, Orlando Osuna and Matthew Yanke pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and were sentenced to jail time. Hank Hendricks pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact.

In December 2009, House, Osuna and Yanke violated terms of their probation by interacting with each other and contacting relatives of Kauanui's, as well as using illegal drugs. A judge sentenced each of them to a three-year penitentiary term.

House began serving his sentence at Centinela State Prison in Imperial County on Feb. 1, 2010.

Due to allowances for time served in county jail and a state law that grants inmates convicted of certain crimes one day's credit for each day served, House completed his term on Jan. 9, 2011, according to a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

—City News Service