SAN JOSE — A young man who participated in the alleged harassment of an African-American student at San Jose State emphatically denied Monday that he and three other students picked on their suitemate because he was black.
Asked by defense lawyers whether suitemates Colin Warren, Logan Beaschler or Joseph “Bret” Bomgardner Jr. said or did anything overtly racist to Donald “D.J.” Williams Jr., the man’s answer was the same: “No.”
The young man was identified in court only as one of Williams’ six suitemates during the fall 2013 semester. Williams claims he suffered racial harassment in the dormitory suite shortly after moving in.
But multiple sources familiar with the investigation told this newspaper the young man was charged as a juvenile in the bullying incident. His case, whose outcome has not been disclosed, was handled separately. This newspaper is not naming the young man because he was 17 at the time of the alleged hazing campaign.
The three other men face misdemeanor battery and hate crime charges. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office claims the young men subjected Williams to repeated abuse, including clamping a U-shaped lock around his neck, calling him a racial slur and displaying a Confederate flag in the living room.
The trial entered its sixth day Monday in downtown San Jose. For a case that sparked loud, angry demonstrations on campus, the give-and-take among prosecutor Carolyn Malinsky, defense attorneys and two witnesses was civil and quiet.
The first witness, the ex-suitemate, said he was involved in placing the U-lock around Williams’ neck but that the stunt could have been pulled on any of the others. He was expelled from San Jose State along with Warren and Beaschler. Bomgardner was suspended.
Attorney Chuck Mesirow, who represents Beaschler, asked the witness, “Did anyone say, ‘Let’s put it on DJ’s neck because he’s black?’ “
“No,” the witness answered, and then explained why they chose Williams.
“The lock isn’t that wide,” the man said. “You need to have a skinny neck, and D.J. had that. … D.J. was surprised but not angry or upset.”
Walinsky challenged him.
“Isn’t it true that the look on his face was annoyed?” she asked.
The witness relented: “Yes.”
Going over that incident and the others, Malinsky sought to establish a pattern of singling out Williams. Malinsky also tried to corner the witness on a letter of apology he co-wrote with other defendants after Warren allegedly displayed a Confederate flag in the living room.
“You already knew the Confederate flag could be associated with racism?” Malinksy asked.
The young man answered, “It could be possible, that’s correct.” He added that the flag also reflected the conservative philosophy of states’ rights: “It’s a complicated issue.”
The second witness of the day was Sara Emily Fried, a San Jose State junior who lived in a suite near Williams and his roommates in 2013. She said she was in their living room when the men decided to come up with nicknames for one another.
Fried suggested “Three-fifths” or “Fraction” for Williams, who objected to both of them. The names refer to the pre-emancipation policy of counting black slaves as less than one person. Malinsky asked Fried if she understood that racist history.
“I knew it had a racist connection, but I think I was just coming up with (nicknames) in my head at the time,” she said.
A frequent visitor to the men’s suite, Fried said some of the roommates picked up on the nicknames and used them on Williams, but she couldn’t remember which ones. Malinsky pressed her on the cumulative effects of the slurs, U-lock collaring and other alleged acts against Williams.
“I think it got to the point when it became harassing instead of pranking,” Fried said.
The trial is expected to continue this week and into next.
Contact Joe Rodriguez at jrodriguez@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5767. Twitter.com/JoeRodMercury.
