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December 19
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logo-lacodistrictattorney[District Atty] – An 18-year-old man was charged Tuesday with punching an elderly man who allegedly asked him to stop smoking at a park in Valencia, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said.

Tanner Ian Smith, of Saugus, faces one misdemeanor count each of battery on an elder and battery.

Smith pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to return on May 23 in Department 2 of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Santa Clarita Branch.

The alleged incident occurred on Monday, May 2 after the 71-year-old victim asked a group smoking at the park to stop because there were young children around, prosecutors said. The group allegedly laughed and insulted the victim who then took a photo of the activity, prosecutors added.

The complaint charges Smith with punching the victim in the face knocking him to the ground.

Bail was set at $20,000 and a protective order was issued to keep Smith away from the park and the victim.

If convicted as charged, the defendant faces a possible maximum sentence of one year in county jail and $1,000 fine.

The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Santa Clarita Station.

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33 Comments

  1. Pat Walsh says:

    Tanner Smith. What a douchebag.

  2. George Mace says:

    How does he plead not guilty? If he is the one that attacked the senior and claims not guilty they should give him the maximum penalty.

    • Daniel Konz says:

      People ask this all the time, it’s actually quite simple…
      You plead not guilty to the charges against you in order to go to trial…
      If you plead guilty, you accept the charges as is and are issued a punishment of fines or jailtime…
      If you go to a trial, your lawyer can negotiate a lesser sentence…

      Therefore, most people plead not guilty in order to attempt a reduced punishment via the court system…
      Or, if there is insufficient evidence the case could be thrown out…
      So admitting guilt and accepting charges is kind of a bad plan in many scenarios…

      Just because someone says you’re guilty of something, and you’re arrested for it doesn’t mean you have to agree to it or the details/severity of it…

      We are all guaranteed a right to trial…

    • George Mace says:

      Hey thanks Daniel Konz! But if this senior id’s this guy he is screwed

    • Dorene Tapp says:

      I read that the man had taken pictures on of the guy with his cell phone.

  3. I just did a search and it appears he has an active FB account …??

  4. Disgusting behavior. No respect.

  5. Paul Mahone says:

    I’ll just leave this right here. Just about sums everything up.

  6. Wow! Parents must be proud!

  7. What a little punk I looked up his FB he sure thinks he’s a tough guy

  8. Jay Salter says:

    What an idiot he writes on his Facebook he was fired from Del taco LOL??

  9. Dobie Gillis says:

    This kid got LOSSES. Even his wins have failures. 18 year old balding burnout. The genetic pool in his family needs more chlorine.

  10. Żøė Marie says:

    Attention to the admin of this page how is this allowed for people to be able to publicly criticize and put down someone like this? It doesn’t matter what they’ve done, people have problems people mess up that doesn’t mean it’s okay to go criticize and put someone down for simply judging him based on what they’ve seen on his Facebook page. This is just not right for people to be able to publicly bash someone on this page.

    • Dobie Gillis says:

      Yes it’s our right. Free speech. Nobody is yelling “fire” in the movie theater either.

    • Żøė Marie says:

      Okay smart ass. You still look like a damn fool. Carry on

    • Paul Mahone says:

      1) anything posted on Facebook is public domain. 2) You punch a senior citizen in the face, people are going to say things and not all of it is going to be nice. Welcome to the Internet. Garbage in garbage out.

    • Chad Goertz says:

      Uh oh, some file a hurt feelings report. ..

    • You’ve got to be kidding me. Defending a punk who punched a 71 year old man in the face? And saying we shouldn’t judge him based on the content that he himself puts on his own Facebook page? You’re joking right? Is he really a stand up guy? A real productive member of society? He should portray himself in the manner in which he wants people to see him. I see you are friends with him on FB. Maybe it’s time to find a better class of friends. Ya know, not elder abusers??

  11. Disgusting…ignorance and it’s best…

  12. Heather says:

    Zoe, I understand your frustration, however, be frustrated with perp. He may have problems but people don’t get clean because you tell them they look good and are doing well. Also, I keep seeing people talk about his privacy…his Facebook is public and the internet is a public forum. Some how I don’t think he is all that concerned with what people think considering he isn’t trying to hide his delinquentcies…I saw his page!

  13. Well said Jill Amanda Federman.

    • Looks like the girl deleted her comment. Wonder if “we” are all the bad guys in her book still, or if MAYBE possibly, she’ll wake up and realize this is not just a “oh, we all make mistakes, don’t judge” kind of a situation and wake up. I just can’t comprehend how parents can raise trash that end up this way…

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