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Judge Sets Bail High For Teens In 'Egregious' Beating

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By BILLY TOWNSEND | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 11, 2008

Updated: 04/11/2008 03:22 pm

BARTOW - A beating recorded for posting on the Internet was "egregious and prolonged," a judge said today in setting double the normal bail for the eight teens accused in the attack.

Judge Angela Cowden set bail at $30,000 to $37,000 after prosecutors Thursday decided to try the teenagers as adults on charges that include kidnapping and misdemeanor battery.

If convicted, the teens, one of them only 14, could be sentenced to life in prison.

The beating was videotaped for posting on the MySpace and YouTube social-networking sites, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Sunday.

It was meant as retaliation for trash-talking online by the beating victim, 16-year-old Victoria Lindsay, Judd said.

Cowden limited the eight teenagers' movements as a condition of their release on bail. They are prohibited from:

Contacting one another, the victim or victim's family.

Visiting Mulberry High School or any school-related functions.

Visiting MySpace or any other social-networking site, chat room or forum on the Internet.

Visiting the Wing House restaurant in Lakeland, where the beating victim, 16-year-old Victoria Lindsay, has worked as a hostess for the past month.

Cindy Sarcen, Wing House general counsel, said from the company's Pinellas County headquarters that Wing House will comply with the judge's order and is considering whether additional security will be required.

"The Wing House does not condone any of these actions," Sarcen said. "We think they are horrible, especially in light of the fact that our organization's charitable efforts focuses on helping women and children in need."

"Our primary concern is for our employee and her safety," she added. "We will do whatever we can to support Tori and do whatever we can do to see that she gets back to work."

Thursday, a spokesman for YouTube said the company is removing copies of the beating video from the Web site as well as any videos that provide personal information about anyone involved in the case.

The sheriff's office made the arrests Sunday and released a three-minute clip of the video Monday.

Six girls, all students at Mulberry High School, are accused of taking turns beating Lindsay the night of March 30 at a Lakeland home.

Three of them also face charges of witness tampering: Brittni Hardcastle, Brittany Mayes and Mercades Nichols, all 17. They are accused of driving Lindsay around afterward and threatening to beat her again if she talked to law enforcement.

The other three girls are April Cooper, 14; Kayla Hassell, 15; and Cara Murphy, 16.

Stephen Schumaker, 18, and Zachary Ashley, 17, are accused of acting as lookouts.

Earlier reports that the accused all attended Mulberry High were not correct. Polk school board attorney Wes Bridges said not all of the teens were enrolled in Polk schools at the time of their arrests. He would not elaborate further for privacy reasons.

Bridges said the school district has fielded a large number of calls from across the country demanding to know what school officials would do about the teens in the video.

Bridges said the school district did not ask for the teens to be barred from Mulberry High or its functions, "but it's not something we object to." He said the district is strictly following the lead of the sheriff and prosecutors in dealing with the case.

Since their arrests, the teens who were students have been administratively withdrawn from their schools, Bridges said. Educational responsibilities have been turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice, he said.

Reporter Billy Townsend can be reached at (863) 284-1409 or wtownsend@tampatrib.com.

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