DEATH+REDEMPTION: a tragedy in three acts at South East High School

act one

GIRL FATALLY STABBED AT SOUTH EAST HIGH SCHOOL: Teen's boyfriend is booked on suspicion of murder in the attack at South East High School. Two who tried to intervene are hurt.

By Sam Quinones and Rick Rojas, Los Angeles Times |http://lat.ms/nEypCe

A South East High School official speaks with parents after the campus was put on lockdown because of the stabbing incident. (Gina Ferazzi, Los Angeles Times / October 1, 2011)

October 1, 2011 - A teenage girl died after a lunchtime stabbing Friday at South East High School in South Gate, and another student has been booked on suspicion of murder. A school dean and one another student were also injured.

The 17-year-old girl, a senior, was stabbed in the side and back , allegedly by her estranged boyfriend. She died of complications during surgery at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood about 7:45 p.m., Los Angeles Unified School District Police Chief Steve Zipperman said.

student safety Some parents waiting outside the school were incensed. Citing staff layoffs, one said: "This school wasn't like this. They had more protection, more help."

Abraham Lopez, 18, a senior at the school, is being held without bail, Zipperman said. The girl was not identified pending notification of her family, he added.

The hospital was briefly locked down late Friday in response to a bomb threat in the parking garage. Authorities said it was somehow related to the stabbing.

The injured dean, who is also a teacher at the school, and the injured male student, an offensive lineman on the school's varsity football team, had stepped in to break up the fight. Both sustained non-life-threatening wounds, said Monica Carazo, a district spokeswoman.

Students said the couple had been together on and off since 9th grade and would walk the halls holding hands. The attack broke out shortly after 11 a.m., at the beginning of lunch break. Witnesses said the fight was over a breakup, and that the boy began choking the girl and put her in a headlock.

"She couldn't do nothing," said a 17-year-old senior, who witnessed the incident. "I'm still shaking. It's a shocker."

Ninth-grader Giselle Noriega was eating lunch when she said she noticed the couple arguing.

Suddenly, the boy grabbed the girl in a headlock and began punching her, said Noriega, 14. They fell to the ground, as the dean stepped in to stop the quarrel.

As havoc erupted, Noriega said, the football player, Jorge Garcia, ran to help the teacher break up the fight. "The guy stabbed [Garcia] in the arm. A lot of people were trying to separate the fight," she said.

Garcia, a junior, was supposed to play in a game Friday night. His coach, Derwin Henderson, said Garcia received about 15 stitches before being sent home from the hospital.

School officials said they will contact parents to explain what happened. Counselors were on campus to assist students, said L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy.

"We want to remind students that violence is never the answer," Deasy said.

Some parents waiting outside the school were incensed. Marisol Aguirre's son graduated last year and she still volunteers at the school.

Citing staff layoffs since her son left, she said: "This school wasn't like this. They had more protection, more help."

• Times staff writer Ben Bolch contributed to this report.

Act Two:  flashback to thursday

South East's Gerardo Leos faces a daunting test

A promising sophomore linebacker-running back is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. His fellow Jaguars, who host Garfield on Friday, plan to honor 'the rock of our team.'

Gerardo Leos huddles with South East teammates, who will dedicate Friday night's game to the linebacker-running back who was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

By Ben Bolch, LA Times | http://lat.ms/oljaPC

September 29, 2011, 9:40 p.m. - The right arm that had helped carry Gerardo Leos onto the varsity football team as a sophomore was numb.

The right leg that had helped earn him the nickname "Tasmanian devil" was weak.

It was July, and the normally fleet linebacker-running back from South East High in South Gate was seemingly stuck in slow motion. He could barely lift one of his legs over a set of ropes during practice drills.

"I knew there was something wrong," said Derwin Henderson, Leos' coach, "because he's a really quick kid and he's always first in line."

The sensations in his extremities were initially dismissed as nothing more than heat exhaustion. When the symptoms later returned, there was fear they might be tied to cancer.

Last weekend came the diagnosis, two words that could rock even the most unflinching teenager: multiple sclerosis. There is no cure for the progressive autoimmune disease of the central nervous system.

"It's shocking because I'm 15 and I'm going through this," Leos said this week.

He's not enduring it alone. On Friday, when unbeaten South Gate (4-0) plays host to Garfield (0-4) in its first game since Leos learned of his disorder, the Jaguars plan to honor the player Henderson described as "the rock of our team" because of his hardworking, fearless demeanor.

"It's all him," Henderson said. "Every piece of tape, everything is going to have No. 14 on it."

That would be Leos' jersey number, one the sophomore hopes to wear again in a game before the end of the season.

He would not be the first athlete to compete with multiple sclerosis. UCLA's Robert Kibble played on special teams as a freshman in 2005 before being forced to retire because of his condition. Stan Belinda, a major league relief pitcher, played for two seasons after his diagnosis in 1998.

Leos wants to add his name to the list. He has an appointment with a neurologist Oct. 17, at which point he is supposed to learn more about his prognosis.

"Hopefully I get to play soon," he said.

Dr. Leigh Maria Ramos-Platt, a neurologist with Children's Hospital Los Angeles, said Leos could play again as long as he could tolerate the physical rigors of the sport.

It seems folly to rule out anything for the undersized overachiever who made the varsity last summer without playing one down on a lower-level team. Coaches first observed the 5-foot-7, 145-pound mighty mite plowing through junior varsity defenders in spring practice, prompting a Jaguars assistant to ask why Leos wasn't on the varsity.

Henderson confessed he didn't even know the kid's name. The coach told Leos he would make the varsity only if he figured to play. That seemed increasingly likely after Leos continued to impress during a summer passing league.

But the frightening episodes of numbness, weakness and tingling in his arm and leg commenced shortly thereafter. Leos would sprint for a few seconds before having to stop, the right side of his body unwilling to cooperate.

Visits to clinics and specialists ensued. Symptoms abated and returned, only to vanish again. Leos played in the Jaguars' first three games, establishing himself as a special-teams dynamo.

"He's like a kamikaze," running back Chris Ochoa said. "Every time we kicked the ball off, it was him getting the tackle."

Last week, Leos began suffering headaches. He was rushed to the hospital, enduring a four-hour MRI exam, before receiving his diagnosis.

"Once they told me the results," he said, "there was nothing I could do but stay strong."

Henderson delivered the news to his players Monday. Several asked about the particulars of the disease. The coach explained it was a serious disorder, something that was more likely to affect Leos in years to come and might require occasional hospitalization.

While Leos appeared upbeat when he returned to campus Wednesday, his mother, Ofelia, acknowledged the family feared for his future.

"For Gerardo and me, for us, the truth is we feel really bad," Ofelia said in Spanish. "I'm going to tell you something: I'm putting everything in God's hands and the hands of the doctors."

For his part, Henderson hopes Leos can fulfill his dream to play again. Not that he would let Leos decide whether to return to the field.

"If it was up to him," Henderson said, "he would dress and play on Friday."

Times staff writer Kevin Baxter contributed to this report.

Act three: HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

South East ends trying week with 31-28 win over Garfield

One South East player is wounded in campus violence, and another is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The Jaguars build a lead and hang on for the victory over league rival Garfield.

By Ben Bolch, LA Times | http://lat.ms/oDHMlU

September 30, 2011, 11:01 p.m. - South East's 31-28 victory over Garfield on Friday night did more than give the Jaguars their first victory in the history of an Eastern League rivalry that has spanned seven years.
It also served as a tribute to two South East players who were sidelined after a tumultuous week.

Running back-linebacker Gerardo Leos is out indefinitely after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Offensive lineman Jorge Garcia was sliced in the arm Friday morning while assisting a female classmate who was fatally wounded in a campus stabbing.

"We've always said this game was going to be for them," said South East cornerback Juan Nevarez, who made two big plays to preserve the victory. "They've always given their all."

After Garfield had shaved a 31-14 deficit with consecutive touchdowns, the Bulldogs (0-5) drove to the South East 40-yard line with 11 seconds left. On third down, Nevarez broke up a long pass. On fourth down, he tackled Lance Fernandez on a hook-and-ladder play to end the game.

"Those were the two biggest plays I've made this whole year," Nevarez said.

Leos was with the Jaguars (5-0) from the start, carrying the team flag when players ran onto the field before the game. After being hospitalized earlier in the day, Garcia joined his teammates on the sideline in the fourth quarter.

South East tailback Robert Lewis, who rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns in 18 carries, wore Leos' No. 14. So did Jaguars Coach Derwin Henderson.

"It's a pretty emotional day for them," Henderson said of his players. "There's been a lot of crying going on. But our kids were determined. They just believed in themselves, that's the biggest thing."

South East quarterback Jonathan Santos completed 14 of 22 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.