Bird Rock Bandit Cravens a "good kid" with clueless parents

Update June 28, 2008 here
Yeah...maybe this is gonna be a little unfair. I know that Seth Craven's parents are in anguish right now over the fact that their kid probably helped murder Emery Kauanui. But how often do you hear parents admit that they did a crappy job raising their little thug?


Of course it didn't happen in this case either:

SAN DIEGO – The parents of Seth Cravens, one of four young La Jolla men accused of murdering professional surfer Emery Kauanui, portray their son as a “good person with a good heart,” but also a young man who was aggressive and lacked direction.

Making their first public comments since Kauanui's Memorial Day weekend beating death, William and Karen Cravens said they knew nothing about victims' statements and police reports accusing their 21-year-old son of being the assailant in a string of unprovoked beatings over the past five years.

“I'm not aware of any of that,” William Cravens, 65, said during a news conference at the office of their son's attorneys, where they were flanked by three of their 14 grown children and eight of their 52 grandchildren.

Well at least give Mr. Cravens credit for being a stud. 14 kids! Of course Mrs. Cravens deserves some credit too:

The Cravens insisted their son was innocent of murder in an incident that witnesses said began as a fair fight between Kauanui and one of the four accused, but ended in a fatal, four-on-one beating.

“He did not do what he is accused of doing,” said Karen Cravens. “There is no doubt in my mind or in my husband's.”

Please. Isn't there at least a little doubt?

Cravens is named as a suspect by San Diego police in two cases: a February battery of a man outside of a La Jolla Boulevard taco shop and a 2004 incident in which Cravens is accused of threatening a man with “great bodily harm.”

Several other victims have told police Cravens beat them up without provocation at parties, outside of bars, and on the street, officials have said.

Police have said they are looking into at least 15 assaults connected to the Bird Rock Bandits, several of which surfaced after publicity over Kauanui killing.

“We're not aware of any police reports,” William Cravens said. He added that he and his wife did not know their son had been banned from The Shack, a La Jolla Boulevard bar, for picking fights with strangers, as a bartender there reported.

You'd think Seth's lawyer might have clued the parents in by now...but of course, he's a lawyer:

Alan Spears, an attorney for Cravens, said his client's bond was excessive and that Cravens should not be charged with murder.

Though the defendants boasted on the Internet of being part of a “crew” calling themselves the Bird Rock Bandits, Spears scoffed at that idea.

“This notion that Mr. Cravens and the others are part of this gang is absolutely preposterous,” the lawyer said.

Uh....right. Except that Spears apparently forgets that "Mr. Cravens and the others" were bragging about their thuggish exploits on the Bird Rock Bandit's My Space page. I guess being part of gang is pretty cool until you kill someone.

Good kid...non-gang member Seth Cravens flashes gang signs with the man he helped murder (allegedly)

But still...Seth Cravens is a good kid who enjoys reading and calling his mom:

William and Karen Cravens characterized Seth as a loving, caring son, brother and uncle, who calls every night from jail and e-mails them daily.

“Overall, he is doing good,” his mother said. “There are good days and bad days. He loves to read and he has gotten a lot of reading done.”

To be fair, it's possible that Mr. and Mrs. Cravens have a good reason for not accepting responsibility for the values instilled in Seth...you know, "getting wasted, partying, surfing and womping":

The elder Cravens was convicted himself in the mid-1990s on a federal charge involving a $74-million fraud while he was head of the Polynesian Cultural Center in Honolulu. He served three years of supervised probation after testifying on the government's behalf.

The Cravens, who have been married 46 years, said that while they knew their son to have an aggressive nature since he was a child, they were never contacted by teachers or counselors about his behavior and do not believe their son has an anger problem.

William Cravens conceded Seth had “done a little too much partying in his young life.” He added that his son “likes to mix it up.” His wife said Seth was not one to pick a fight, but “he maybe doesn't walk away from them.”

Nice kid you raised there. A "good" kid with aggressive tendencies who likes to read and call his mom, party, get into fights and does not have an anger problem. Oh yeah...and who is in jail for murder.