Timothy True, 22, and Steven Lemeur, 25, were both found guilty of attempted murder, burglary by forced entry and committing a felony to benefit a criminal street gang.Defense attorneys could not be reached Wednesday.
Both men, who have swastikas tattooed on their heads, are members of the Hemet-based COORS Family Skins, which stands for Comrades of our Racial Struggle. They were arrested after the August 2008 attack of Cory Smith at a Yale Street apartment.
Prosecutors said Smith had shared a prison cell with Lemeur in Chino.
COORS members tried to recruit him into their gang in Hemet but he refused, saying he was trying to escape the gang lifestyle, Deputy District Attorney Sean Crandell said.Police in that Riverside County city were called to an apartment where Smith was shooting heroin with a girlfriend. They found him stabbed about six times and beaten with a baseball bat. He had lost about six liters of blood and was within 30 minutes of dying, Crandell said.
Smith was in a coma for several weeks after undergoing surgery. He was released from Riverside County Regional Medical Center after six weeks in intensive care, according to a Hemet police affidavit. Smith did not remember the attack, but witnesses identified True and Lemeur as suspects by identifying their tattoos.
Authorities believe the men conspired to attack Smith for snitching to law enforcement about a previous crime. Lemeur had wanted to attack Smith while in prison but was stopped by gang elders.
The two men could face at least 15 years to life when they are sentenced Jan. 7 in a French Valley Courtroom, outside Murrieta.
The Press Enterprise
