'Slick '50s' Defendant Guilty, Gets 5 Years

A Laguna Niguel man facing a second trial for attempted murder in a "bully" gang attack on a teen pleaded guilty Wednesday and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Jesse Grist, 20, pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the Aug. 11, 1998, knife-and-bottle attack on Galen Thorne, who needed more than 40 stitches in his head.

Grist's first conviction was thrown out last year after an appeals court found that the trial judge made disparaging remarks to Grist's defense attorney.

Grist was part of the "Slick '50s" gang, so named because of a fondness for 1950s music and dress.