By Aaron Burgin, The Porterville Recorder
A pair of violent assaults against two black men last week are likely unrelated and not racially motivated, police said this week.

Porterville Sgt. Mike Blain said investigations are still ongoing into the Dec. 30 incidents, but the similarities and proximity of the assaults are likely coincidental.

“We don't think that these were hate crimes,” Blain said Tuesday. “But we are still looking to see what was the cause of the events.” In one assault, Bryan Andrew Butler, 41, of Porterville, was found lying in a roadway in front of 45 South Chess Terrace suffering from multiple stab wounds.

Police later arrested Ruben Santoyo, 21; Juan Magallanes, 18; Gabriel Andrade, 19 and a 17-year-old boy for the stabbing. Earlier that day, police found Preston Thomas, 34, of Wasco, lying in the parking lot of the Best Western Hotel on 355 W. Montgomery Ave. suffering from severe head trauma from kicks to his head when he was on the ground.

Adam Duran, 19, and Julio Torres, 20, both of Porterville, were arrested minutes after the discovery. Initially, police said the circumstances surrounding the incidents - they occurred within 15 hours and one mile of each other, and involved two black men assaulted by large groups of Hispanic men - prompted them to look into the possibility of hate crimes.

However, Blain said, information received during the investigation has led them to think otherwise. “We had to make sure,” Blain said. “It is our job to investigate these incidents and look at them from every angle.” Both men are recovering from their respective injuries. A member of Butler's family refused to comment on the incidents.

Torres, who posted bail shortly after his arrest, is represented by local attorney David Candelaria. Candeleria said the “hate crime” label does not fit his client. “He has a lot of black friends, and many of them have come to his defense,” Candelaria said. “If he had issues with black people, why would he hang out with them for years.”

Torres is scheduled to be in Tulare County Superior Court-Porterville Jan. 23. Other court dates were unavailable at the time of publication.

Contact Aaron Burgin at 784-5000, Ext. 1047, or aburgin@portervillerecorder.com.

This story was published in The Porterville Recorder on Jan. 12, 2007