‘Bird Rock Bandit’ lands in jail again

By City News Service

A man who gained notoriety and served time behind bars for his role in a La Jolla street fight that left a professional surfer dead five years ago was jailed again over the weekend, authorities reported today.

Eric House, 25, was arrested Sunday evening on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence at his 23-year-old girlfriend’s Pacific Beach apartment, according to San Diego police.

SDPD Detective Gary Hassen declined to disclose details, but said the woman apparently did not require hospital treatment due to the abuse she allegedly suffered at her Chalcedony Street residence.

On May 24, 2007, House and four other members of a hard-partying group of surfing buddies calling themselves the “Bird Rock Bandits” got into a scuffle with acclaimed Hawaii-born surfer Emery Kauanui.

The brawl ended when one of House’s cohorts, Seth Cravens of La Jolla, punched Kauanui, causing him to fall over backward and crack his skull on the pavement in front of his Draper Avenue home. Kauanui, 24, died in a hospital four days later.

In late 2008, Cravens, 22 at the time, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He also was found guilty of assault and battery in connection with violent acts dating back to 2005 and unrelated to Kauanui’s death.