Fight Over Ocean Beach Firepit Results in Broken Jaw

By Lauren Coronado / SanDiego7 / June 20, 2021

San Diego police are investigating a violent attack that happened in Ocean Beach. A pair of local college students told NBC 7 that an argument over a fire pit spiraled out of control. One of the students captured the tail-end of the fight on video as a last-minute attempt to identify the accused aggressors.

“I got your (expletive) faces!” The person who took the video could be heard yelling in the background. The accused aggressors were captured lunging at the camera and yelling expletives to the young man who was recording.

Before the day turned violent, Kobe La and his girlfriend, Kristina Castillo, said their trip to Ocean Beach on June 15 started like any other. “Grill some hamburgers, hot dogs, we had some music going,” said Castillo.

Born and raised in San Diego County, the two said they often visit near tower five at Ocean Beach. Castillo said they set up camp near a fire pit, where an unattended, broken chair was placed a few feet from a trashcan. She said they waited to see if it belonged to anyone before they claimed the fire pit.

“From 12 p.m. all the way to 7 p.m. no one came to claim it, so we decided to set up closer,” said Castillo. Shortly after, she said they were confronted by a man, that she described as “aggressive.” “He was saying this is his fire pit and his beach,” explained Castillo.

She said one of her friends tried to reason with the man, but he only became more agitated.

“So the guy starts putting his shoulders out, his hands, up and like, ‘You wanna go? You wanna go?’ He throws his shirt off and starts pounding his chest,” explained Castillo.

Then Castillo said the man, who identified himself as a 35-year-old local, threatened the group of students. “Wait ‘til it gets dark. I’ll get you and he started cussing a lot.”

She said two hours later, the man came back with two other men and two women, but this time it turned physical. La said his friend was punched, so he ran over to try and deescalate the situation.

“As soon as I put a hand in, I got hit in the face; I was hit more than one time that night and other people were hit with chairs and other things. It could’ve been much worse. I could definitely see myself not being here,” said La.

Castillo said she called the police and the group ran back to their car in the parking lot and drove off.

“I distinctly remember hearing them say like, ‘If you guys are here any later, we’re going to shoot all of you’. That’s the last thing I heard from them,” said La.

La said he didn’t realize how badly he was injured until he woke up the following morning and saw that his jaw shifted. He said his jaw was fractured in two places and he underwent a 3-hour surgery.

“I have two fractures in my jaw at the moment. One right here and one right down the middle,” said La.

He also explained that he can’t open his mouth, he’s on a liquid diet and is out of work until he heals. Castillo said about 4 other friends were also injured. One of the accused aggressors could be seen on video with blood on his face. It’s not clear how he was injured or the extent of his injury.

SDPD told NBC 7 that they are investigating the incident as a battery case and that details could not be shared about the case until Monday when a Public Information Officer or detective on the case returns to work.

NBC 7 blurred the faces of the accused aggressors captured in the video because police haven’t confirmed that they are looking at them as suspects.

La said through help on social media, he and his friends have been able to identify three of the five people who were involved in the incident. They’re still trying to identify the other two.