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DA gets report on beating

William Ferchland, Tahoe Daily Tribune

A report has been submitted to the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office regarding Kevin Robinson, a member of the U.S. Air Force who was beaten into a coma after a group of up to eight men attacked him near Stateline on Aug. 18, a South Lake Tahoe police detective said.

Detective David Stevenson said the last time he checked, Robinson was rehabilitating slowly at a military hospital in Santa Clara.

“He’s slowly waking up but he’s not snapping out of anything,” he said.



Stevenson said he included three male suspects in his report, which was sent to the district attorney’s office. No one has been arrested.

Details of the report were unavailable.



Robinson and Rick Mata, both stationed at Beale Air Force Base in Marysville, Calif., were walking from the casino corridor to La Baer Inn at 4133 Highway 50 on Aug. 18. The two encountered the group of males and a female about 3:30 a.m. when an argument began and a fight ensued, authorities said.

Feet and fists knocked Robinson unconscious and sent him to Barton Memorial Hospital. A helicopter transported him to Washoe Medical Center.

It is unsure what charges will be filed against the suspects. A call to the district attorney’s office was unanswered Monday.

Mata was treated and released at the scene.

In other news:

Three Sacramento men who survived the rough and chilly waters of lower Echo Lake Sunday were identified as Kenneth Bennett, 47; Peter Gallardo, 38; and Ricky Parsons, 21. El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene of the Sacramento men being capsized from their aluminum boat after hitting a rock. No one was seriously injured.

A 26-year-old South Lake Tahoe man was arrested on charges of battery with serious bodily injury when he allegedly choked his mother Sunday afternoon, a South Lake Tahoe police officer said.

Christopher Freeman’s mother said he attacked her after he became angry and threw a snack for his 3-year-old niece out of the apartment, the officer said.

Freeman said his mother went after him and he tried to protect himself, police said.

After the 3 p.m. incident, Freeman went to South Lake Tahoe Police Department to report the incident. He was placed into custody and booked into El Dorado County Jail on $41,207 bail. His mother was taken to Barton Memorial Hospital for treatment.

A 29-year-old South Lake Tahoe man was arrested on drunken driving and transporting marijuana charges when he was spotted driving 50 mph in a 35 mph zone during snowy conditions, a South Lake Tahoe police officer said.

The man said he carried a prescription for marijuana but didn’t have it in his possession when he was pulled over Sunday night, the officer said.

Twelve grams in a metal container were found in his pants pocket, the officer said.


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