Steve Woods

Steve Woods, 51, a disc jockey at Los Angeles radio stations KDAY-AM during its peak popularity and KACE-FM where he was half of the "Steve and Sam" morning team, died of a heart attack Dec. 9 in Arlington, Texas. He had been a disc jockey at KRNB-FM in Grand Prairie, Texas, since it went on the air in 1996. Born Clarence Steven Woods in Los Angeles, he excelled in track and football, but also made an impression with his resonant voice during his student days at Hollywood High School.

After a vocal advocate for the controversial Malibu Lagoon restoration turned a gun on herself late Saturday, some closest to her were left wondering if the increasing vitriol surrounding the project drove the 35-year-old over the edge. Stephenie Glas, a Los Angeles city firefighter, shot herself in the head shortly before midnight at her boyfriend's Corral Canyon home, according to the boyfriend, Steve Woods. Authorities said only that a 35-year-old female died of "apparent suicide" at the home but did not release the woman's identity Sunday.

A powerful visual image lingers from the attack in a San Clemente park on 17-year-old Steve Woods. An X-ray showed a paint roller lodged in Woods' brain. It was stark and sickening; it also spoke dramatically of the violent fury of a suspected gang attack. The man responsible for gaining permission from Woods' family to release the X-ray was Dr. Thomas E. Shaver, a surgeon and director of the trauma unit at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo.

Steve Woods, 51, a disc jockey at Los Angeles radio stations KDAY-AM during its peak popularity and KACE-FM where he was half of the "Steve and Sam" morning team, died of a heart attack Dec. 9 in Arlington, Texas. He had been a disc jockey at KRNB-FM in Grand Prairie, Texas, since it went on the air in 1996. Born Clarence Steven Woods in Los Angeles, he excelled in track and football, but also made an impression with his resonant voice during his student days at Hollywood High School.

The senseless death of San Clemente teen-ager Steve Woods has produced a stunning reaction within the community, as a whole city appears to go through the grieving process of denial, anger and finally acceptance. The funeral for the 17-year-old a week ago may have been the emotional pinnacle; it was remarkable for the positive messages it produced, the vows to make the young man's death count, to give it meaning.

My best friend carries pepper spray when she goes jogging. It's always in her purse when we go out. This defense would be useless if she confronted an attacker carrying a semiautomatic pistol, but it makes her feel safe. People in Orange County are increasingly doing things to make them feel protected, even if in vain. Violent crimes are not limited to rival gang activity. Video cameras capture young people killing shop owners for small amounts of money. Children are being shot.

The October attack of a San Clemente High School student who was speared through the head with a paint-roller rod sent this seaside city into turmoil. Now, on the one-year anniversary today of the fatal stabbing of Steve Woods, elected officials, educators, police and residents say the city has gone through great changes, including a new respect and awareness for youth violence. Mayor Scott Diehl said the tragedy had a lasting effect for the city and South County.

A final suspect charged with murder and assault in the killing of San Clemente teen-ager Steve Woods was ordered Tuesday to stand trial as an adult. Saul Penuelas, who recently turned 18, is the fourth juvenile in the case to face murder and multiple assault charges in adult court. The others, including Penuelas' younger brother, were ordered last week to stand trial as adults on the same charges. Deputy Dist. Atty.

A jury returned second-degree murder verdicts Wednesday for the last two defendants charged in the 1993 death of a San Clemente teenager who was speared through the head with a paint-roller rod during a beach side confrontation. The mothers of defendants Saul Penuelas, 20, and Rogelio Vasquez Solis, 19, wailed in tears outside the courtroom, while the family of the victim, Steve Woods, said the guilty verdicts will have little meaning unless the two young men receive stiff prison sentences.

A 15-year-old San Clemente High School student on Monday quietly recalled her horror last October when a confrontation at a beach ended with her friend being speared through the head with a paint roller rod, an injury that would ultimately claim his life. Christianne Malberg testified that she and Steve Woods, 17, were sitting side by side in a friend's car as they tried to flee a group of young men who pelted their vehicle with bottles and other items.

A San Clemente man was sentenced to nine years in prison Thursday for the slaying of a teenager pierced through the head with a paint-roller rod during a beach-side confrontation. Arturo Villalobos, 21, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter after the Oct. 15, 1993, attack that resulted in the death of 17-year-old Steve Woods of San Clemente. Villalobos, who was identified by authorities as a gang member and is one of six defendants convicted in the slaying, faced up to 14 years in prison.

A jury returned second-degree murder verdicts Wednesday for the last two defendants charged in the 1993 death of a San Clemente teenager who was speared through the head with a paint-roller rod during a beach side confrontation. The mothers of defendants Saul Penuelas, 20, and Rogelio Vasquez Solis, 19, wailed in tears outside the courtroom, while the family of the victim, Steve Woods, said the guilty verdicts will have little meaning unless the two young men receive stiff prison sentences.

Over the years, Orange County club-goers have heard Steve Wood make music as a member of Honk, the county's leading band during the folk-rocking early 1970s.

The mother of a 17-year-old boy slain when he was assaulted with a paint-roller rod said Saturday she was halting her recall drive against a judge who sentenced two teenagers convicted in the killing to a punishment she considered too lenient. Kathy Woods of San Clemente had initiated a campaign in July to remove Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey, who sentenced the teens to the California Youth Authority instead of state prison. The judge could not be reached for comment Saturday.

The mother of a teen-ager slain when a paint-roller rod pierced his head launched a recall drive Thursday against the judge who sentenced two teen-agers convicted in the killing to the California Youth Authority instead of state prison. Kathy Woods of San Clemente, who considered the sentence too lenient, on Thursday morning handed Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey a notice of her intent to recall him. She also submitted a copy to the Orange County registrar of voters.

The family of a teen-ager who was pierced through the head with a paint-roller rod staged a protest Wednesday outside the Santa Ana courthouse, demanding that a Superior Court judge resign or face a recall drive. Kathy Woods, standing next to an enlarged picture of her slain son, Steve, said her family is still angry over Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey's Jan. 13 sentencing of two teen-agers convicted in the killing.

Jurors deliberated just two hours Tuesday before convicting a third young man of second-degree murder for the death of a San Clemente teen-ager who was speared through the head with a paint-roller rod. Juan Alcocer, 20, stared straight ahead as the jury also found him guilty of nine other felonies, including conspiracy, six assault counts and participating in gang activity during the October, 1993, attack on 17-year-old Steve Woods. Jurors declined to comment after announcing their verdicts.

Two youths were convicted of second-degree murder and nine other felonies Thursday in a gang attack at a San Clemente beach last year that ended with the death of 17-year-old Steve Woods after a paint-roller rod pierced his skull. The case ignited public outrage over gang violence in Orange County and enraged some Latino leaders who complained that prosecutors had overcharged the Latino defendants in the case because the victim was white.

In a case that has deeply divided South County and sparked talk of a recall attempt on a judge, a young man was sentenced Friday to 26 years to life in prison for killing a teen-ager who was pierced through the head with a paint-roller rod. Defense attorney Gene E. Dorney denounced the sentence as "unduly harsh," in part because his client, Juan Alcocer, 19, was not accused of hurling the makeshift weapon that fatally injured Steve Woods on Oct., 15, 1993.

Responding to a wrongful death suit against him, a youth charged with murder in the attack that ended with Steve Woods being speared through the head with a paint-roller rod has filed a lawsuit alleging his civil rights were violated. Rogelio Vasquez Solis, 18, who is charged with second-degree murder and other felony charges stemming from the Oct. 15, 1993, attack at a San Clemente beach, filed the countersuit Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court.