| --Wednesday, May 28, 2008--
Surewood arraigned on eight charges, pleads not guilty
 Porn performer Brian Surewood and co-defendant Armando Ayon appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, Van Nuys Division today for a joint arraignment. Their case was continued for a pre-trial conference on June 26.
A high profile case that has raised awareness, through tragedy, of both the everyday nature of road rage and of its often-unexpected outcome, Surewood's dilemma is one that, but for a few details, is one that could happen to most Los Angeles drivers.
Read more about Surewood (born Brian Barnes) here.
Surewood and Ayon both pleaded not guilty to the same five charges: Murder in the first degree, Vehicular Manslaughter, and three counts of Reckless Driving Resulting in Injury or Death. Surewood also faces three additional charges of Hit And Run.
Previously: Brian SurewoodLabels: brian surewood, legal
posted by Gram the Man
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--Friday, May 16, 2008--
Surewood to be arraigned for murder May 28
 Porn performer Brian Surewood's case moves toward a May 28 arraignment with the completion of the discovery phase of his murder trial, in which no significant charges were dropped.
Read about the October incident that resulted in the arrest of Surewood (born Brian Barnes) and Armando Ayon here (Brian Surewood held for murder; Brian Surewood reckless driving case continued to May 14).
The case has achieved significant media exposure as a tragic example of the results of street racing; both defendants claim that at least the other defendant was racing.
I attended Surewood's trial on Wednesday on the ninth floor of the Van Nuys Division of Los Angeles Superior Court. There were about 30 people in attendance, representatives of the family of the late Ayman Arif, friends and family of Armando Ayon, and friends and family of Surewood, including his mother, an uncle, and some cousins.
Each person in attendance had reason to be powerfully sad. No one wanted to be there and would have gone back and changed the circumstances if he could.
Which is why the jovial atmosphere beyond the bar, as lawyers for the defense and prosecution, court officers and stenographers, joked and drank coffee, seemed indecorous. We'd been warned to arrive at 8:30 sharp, so when the doors weren't open until 8:50, and court didn't start until 9:15, it appeared that, even as it was just another day in court for its employees, some measure of respect should have been paid to the grieving friends and family of everyone involved.
There were five quick cases before People vs. Barnes and Ayon, and another quick case, involving two guys who were found with a trunk full of 95 stolen credit cards (their lawyer tried to defend them by saying that they had "strong ties to their community," which made me laugh because I come from that community), just after the recess.
But at 9:44 the case was finally called, and first Ayon, and then Surewood, were led into the courtroom and were seated and handcuffed side by side. Surewood is a little heavier than people in the adult community remember him; he has been in a 6' x 8' cell since October, and his characteristic beard, which he cultivated since his decision to be a "character" porn actor, is gone. Instead, he looks like a sadder, aged version of his mid-90's self, as if the Surewood who looked like he capered around with a pan flute never existed.
There were two witnesses called during the day. The first was L.A.P.D. Detective David Millan, who had taken statements from Ayon and Surewood the night of the accident. Ayon had given his statement at 8:30 p.m. (the accident happened just after 3 p.m.) and Surewood, who had just turned himself in, gave his at around 9:30 p.m.
Surewood's attorney through this phase of the trial (it is uncertain if he will continue through the arraignment, due to financial agreements) was Peter Korn. Korn appeared on top of his game, if a little cocky (at one point judge Leslie Dunn corrected him on a statement that was "cumulative," or comprised the spirit of a series of other statements, but hadn't actually been uttered. Korn replied to the judge, "Yes, I just wanted to see if you'd heard it.")
The main battle of the day was between Korn and the prosecutor, James Falco. Ayon's attorney, Howard Levine (no relation to the longtime Pulse/Vivid salesperson) appeared incoherent at times. Levine and Korn were concerned with exculpating their clients and reducing their charges, and Falco needed to make them stick.
As such, both Levine and Falco tried to paint Surewood as the aggressor in the case. No one contradicted that it was Ayon who actually struck the cars that injured the Arif family, but both defense attorneys painted their clients as trying to get away from the other, belligerent driver.
Surewood actually had one more charge against him than Ayon: leaving the scene of an accident. Korn tried to get this charge thrown out by pointing out that Surewood had called 911 immediately after the accident, and tied it in with a refutation of the murder charge, arguing that no one who had intended to commit murder would have bothered to stop and dial 911.
The actual call was not played in court, but Falco pointed out that Surewood had not identified himself in the transcript, if it was Surewood at all. In any case, there did not seem to be a real dispute that Surewood had called 911, but the goodheartedness his lawyer had tried to establish with that fact was not enough to get the leaving the scene charge dropped.
It seemed to me that a lot of the prosecutor's attention was being paid to Surewood. While both defendants were charged with the same things (murder, second degree murder, reckless endangerment, reckless driving), it seemed that extra effort was being made to emphasize Surewood's role.
Testimonies of previous witnesses was brought up to prove that Surewood had "slammed" on his breaks in front of Ayon, causing Ayon's Maxima to go out of control, while Surewood's attorney maintained that Surewood had merely "tapped" his brakes to keep Ayon off his bumper.
After a lunch break, Korn called an expert witness, Robert Ockey. Ockey was a tall, courtly, soft-spoken former L.A.P.D. officer who in retirement had continued working in accident reconstruction. He claimed 25 years experience piecing together accidents after the fact, and he had his facts in order.
Ockey was convinced that there was no way Surewood had slammed on his brakes, and that damning tire marks on Sherman Way could not have belonged to Surewood's Camaro.
The problem was, and it was apparent, that Ockey was not a great public speaker. He was put out by Falco's bulldoggery, appeared to become quietly offended, and his testimony was subverted by his shyness.
Korn tried to establish that Ayon was thrown out of control by accelerating and trying to pass Surewood on the right, rather than because Surewood had stopped suddenly.
But after more than four hours of testimony, the judge was not convinced that Surewood should receive lesser charges than Ayon (although one charge, relating to direct grievous bodily injury, was dropped).
Judge Dunn was unconvinced that premeditated murder charges should be dropped against Surewood and Ayon.
"By virtue of the fact that they're driving vehicles, they know the power, force, and violence they produce," she said.
The charges against Surewood and Ayon, if made to stick, carry sentences of 25 years to life, according to California Penal Code sections 187-199:
(a) Every person guilty of murder in the first degree shall be
punished by death, imprisonment in the state prison for life without
the possibility of parole, or imprisonment in the state prison for a
term of 25 years to life.
I don't know what the precedent is in road rage or reckless driving cases in California, but it did feel like Barnes' defense was being shot down by the judge out of proportion to his co-defendant.
"It seemed like she made up her mind beforehand," Korn said later.
Previously: Brian Surewood held for murder; Brian Surewood reckless driving case continued to May 14
See also: California Penal CodesLabels: brian surewood, legal
posted by Gram the Man
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--Thursday, April 24, 2008--
Brian Surewood reckless driving case continued to May 14
 Sitting side by side in orange jumpsuits at the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse, Van Nuys, yesterday, Brian Barnes (aka Brian Surewood) and Armando Ayon listened to the testimony of six prosecution witnesses in their second degree murder trial for the car crash death of four-year-old Ayman Arif.
In addition to talking with various of Barnes' friends in putting together this story, I also consulted Mark Kernes' article in AVN and Rachel Uranga's in the L.A. Daily News.
On October 9, 2007, Barnes was driving along Sherman Way in Van Nuys, returning from filming a scene he'd performed in for the porn company Vouyer Media. At a stop light, sources close to Barnes say, he and Ayon began racing their cars when Ayon heckled Barnes, saying he looked like a pirate.
Barnes (seen behind the wheel of his Camaro in better times with his dog, Rex) allegedly responded that yes, he did look like a pirate.
The first witness was Syeda Arif, wheelchair-bound and speaking through an interpreter (she is a recent immigrant from Pakistan). Arif was standing by the trunk of her car and holding two-month-old daughter Ikra when, witnesses agree, Ayon's car slammed into the parked car behind her, which then struck Arif and sent her, her daughter, and Ayman, who had been standing nearby, onto the grassy area of Sherman Way abutting the sidewalk.
"She was very stoic through her testimony," said Barnes' friend, director David Aaron Clark. "Brian stared at her and started crying."
Ayman and his younger sister were airlifted from the area immediately, and the boy died the next day. His sister has been in and out of intensive care and now carries a shunt in her skull to drain fluid and relieve pressure. Their mother lost her left leg, among other injuries.
 The main issue yesterday, the first of two Discovery days held to gather evidence, was not whether the men were racing each other (that was not disputed), or which driver directly caused the Arif family's injuries, but whether or not Barnes' driving caused Ayon to lose control of his vehicle.
Sherman Way west of Amestoy and east of Lucille is, as you can see from the picture above, a three-lane road. The lane closest to the sidewalk is also used as a parking lane in many areas, and this is where Syeda Arif was standing when the accident occurred, behind the second car in a row of three. The police report said that the collision knocked the last car into Arif's vehicle, which then hit the vehicle in front of it.
Peter Korn, Barnes' attorney, cross-examined LAPD traffic collision expert Detective Dagoberto Espino, who arrived on the scene 20 minutes after the accident.
Espino's report indicated that a skid mark on Sherman Way belonged to Barnes' Camaro, and inferred that Barnes' had cut off Ayon and slowed down just beyond north/south street Amestoy, thus forcing Ayon's Maxima into the lane of parked cars on the north side of the street.
Korn asked if the tire mark had been matched to Barnes' Camaro, but Espino said that it hadn't, that determining that was not part of his duties. Korn also asked Espino if he was aware that Barnes' Camaro had anti-lock brakes, thus making it difficult for that car to have caused a skid mark. Espino said he was not aware of that.
 Among the other witnesses were a mother and son who had been driving near Barnes and Ayon, and Porter Miles, a man who talked with Barnes when the latter stopped his car farther down Sherman Way.
"Why the fuck did you do that?" Miles testified he told Barnes, who had stopped to call 911. Miles said that was all he said to Barnes before he, Miles, returned to the accident scene, where Ayon's Maxima was perched on the median of the east/west road, having crossed two lanes after striking the car behind the Arifs.
According to sources close to Barnes, Barnes said that Miles also told him to "get the fuck out of here." Clark said that that Miles appeared proud of the fact that he knew Ayon's car was "a 4.3" (liter) Maxima and that he was familiar with "high performance vehicles."
Miles testified that, from his rear-view mirror, he saw Barnes tap his brakes in front of Ayon's vehicle.
 Barnes and Ayon are charged with the same things but Barnes has three additional charges of leaving the scene of an accident (one for each victim) because he returned to his Northridge apartment, where he saw the accident footage on the news. Barnes then turned himself in to police.
Eyewitness Roger Cook was passed by the two cars about two blocks before the collision site, and said at the time they were going about 55 miles an hour and "racing." He also said that Ayon, who sustained minor injuries in the crash, made a call on his cell phone, resulting in the arrival of various friends who removed things from Ayon's car. Cook did not testify what those items were.
Barnes and Ayon are being held in protective custody at the Men's Wing of the L.A. County Jail in downtown Los Angeles.. Two additional witnesses, Armenian Americans excused to take part in events commemorating the 1915 Armenian genocide, will testify when the case resumes on May 14.
 Ayman Arif had recently entered first grade at Northridge's Lorne Elementary School, which will plant a tree in his memory tomorrow (April 25) at 8:30 a.m.
UPDATE: I visited the accident scene and Ayman Arif's school less than a mile away. Arif's tree is planted in a quiet garden away from the recess yard.
Previously: Surewood pleads not guilty as murder case continues
See also: Ayman FoundationLabels: brian surewood, legal, news
posted by Gram the Man
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--Wednesday, December 05, 2007--
Surewood pleads not guilty as murder case continues
 Brian Barnes, aka the adult performer Brian Surewood, pleaded not guilty to second degree murder charges Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Van Nuys.
His case continues until January 8, at which point his defense team and prosecutors are expected to have gathered enough evidence to try him in the road rage-related death of five-year-old Ayman Arif of Northridge.
Surewood, 44 and also of Northridge, was involved in a moving dispute with 19-year-old Armando Ayon of Pacoima on Tuesday, October 9. Both raced their cars east on Sherman Way, police said, "jockeying for position". Ayon's car lost control and smashed into a parked car on the south side of the street, crushing Arif, his infant sister, and his mother.
Ayman died October 13, his sister Ikra only recently returned from the hospital, and his mother, 31-year-old Syeda Arif, a recent immigrant from Pakistan, lost a leg and is still hospitalized.
Amir Arif is Ayman's father. He has started a foundation in his son's name to create awareness about aggressive driving. He has been quoted as saying the drivers should be hanged. He wrote me recently:
I am in need of fund to take care of heavy hospital and other expenses that I am currently struggling due to this accident. As you know my wife is still in hospital & my daughter came home with special care need. I had to stop working to take care of her. I am in need of your donation. Please help. Donations can be set to:
Amir Arif
19100 Napa St.
Northridge, CA 91324
or
Ayman Arif Memorial Fund
Bank of America
Account # 03326-70877
Previously: Surewood held for murder
See also: Ayman Arif on YoutubeLabels: brian surewood, legal, news, philanthropy
posted by Gram the Man
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April Flores: Diva
 As you can see, April Flores can hit a high C without using her hands or her voice!
Flores was in Hollywood with her husband, the director Carlos Batts, to promote Voluptuous Life, a sort of Lifestyles of the Abundantly Tasty that chronicles her various curvy exploits in L.A., San Francisco, and New York.
I like Flores because we are both native Spanish speakers with flaming red hair, and because she and Batts prove an exception to the rule of successful, happy couples in porn.
See more pictures after the gap.
 The only time I had visited this studio space on Cole Ave. was my first on the set story after launching my website in 2005. All the sights and smells of the gangbang epic Six in Me came back as I stood drinking open bar liquor on the very spot where Jack Venice and Brian Surewood came on Terri Summers' face. I thought, if I could only have told Surewood and Venice then what we all know now, well, I would have got in the way of what eventually landed on the sweet Dutch Summers.
 Voluptuous Life, produced by Bad Seed, was being hyped along with the soft launch of Adam & Eve's new label, Independent Adult Cinema. Bad Seed is Adam & Eve's gonzo division, said marketing vice president Peter Reynolds, so Voluptuous Life and Joe Gallant's Skin Trade, both of which are not gonzo movies, would have been on the IAC label had it existed this summer.
As it is, IAC's first official release will be a title directed by Joanna Angel, set to coincide with the AVN Expo next month.
 Flores is the type of person people are happy to be around. There were women from all walks of life at the party, porn and non-porn, eager to push their breasts against hers.
 Kimberly Kane, Masuimi Max, and the delightful Cherry of Jumbo's Clown Room (high on the list of phrases I never imagined I would type), all gathered to join their breasts with those of Flores, as if her breasts reflected the bulk buying power of a Costco membership and they all wanted a shot at pallets of Raisinets.
 Adam and Eve, as you can see, is managed by men with trim facial hair and glasses. From left we see executives Wit Maverick, Bob Christian, and Peter Reynolds. These are the people who supply a good deal of the world's pornography; are you surprised they look so urbane?
Voluptuous Life is available now.
Previously: Barely Legal: Generations; Young Hollywood
See also: Fatty D, Carlos Batts, Adam & EveLabels: "adam and eve", "kimberly kane", april flores, asian, bbw, brian surewood, carlos batts, events, jack venice, legal, masuimi max, strippers, zaftig
posted by Gram the Man
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--Thursday, October 11, 2007--
Brian Surewood held for murder
 Brian Barnes, 44, also known as the performer Brian Surewood, turned himself in to police following what is alternately described as a road rage or a street racing incident that killed a five-year-old boy and critically injured his mother and two-month-old sibling.
Surewood is being held in Van Nuys pending a bail reduction hearing.
Barnes, driving a red convertible Camaro, and 19-year-old Armando Ayon were seen to be "jockeying for position," according to witnesses, on Sherman Way in Reseda Wednesday afternoon.
It is reported that Surewood passed Ayon while both were driving at speeds upward of 50 m.p.h. on the Valley boulevard, and then Surewood jammed his brakes. Ayon lost control of his car, a black Maxima, which then hit a parked car, sending it into the family. The mother and younger sibling were crushed against another parked car and the five-year-old was either similarly pinned or sent into the air, depending on testimony.
Sources say Surewood pulled over, called in the incident to emergency services, and left the scene. He returned to the licensed medical marijuana dispensary in Canoga Park that he co-owns, a second story business farther west on Sherman Way, before turning himself in hours later. Ayon was arrested on the scene.
{ADDENDUM}
According to adult industry bloggers Gene Ross and Scott Fayner, both of whom wrote stories folowing the incident:
Gene Ross: "Brian Surewood and this other guy Gamboa Ayon are at a stop light and there’s an altercation. Surewood and Ayon are playing some game of chicken. Surewood was in front of Ayon and to fuck with him, jams on his brakes. Ayon was following too close behind and to avoid hitting Surewood swerves and hits a family.
A crowd of people immediately descended upon Ayon and held him for the cops. In the meantime, Surewood takes off. He goes to his pot store and lights up and tells people about this because he’s all shaken up and trying to mellow out. Surewood’s told you’ve got a very distinctive car. It was Surewood with the red car and the Times got that wrong. So Surewood’s told you’ve got to turn yourself in. He gets a lawyer and turned himself in last night. Scott Fayner: "Sources close to Surewood tell us that the driver of the other car heckled Surewood, saying he wished he looked like a pirate. "Fuck that! I do look like a pirate!" witnesses say Surewood was heard shouting before both cars took off down the street headed for disaster." I was told by another Surewood friend that none of this is true, that Surewood did not have the "pirate" exchange, and that Surewood talked to "very few people" between the accident and turning himself in.
{/ADDENDUM}
The family were recent immigrants from India. Each member was driven or airlifted to a different area hospital. The mother, 31, has had a leg amputated due to the incident and is in danger of losing the other. Her five-year-old son struggled for 36 hours and died yesterday around 11 p.m. The youngest of the three is in critical condition.
Surewood and Ayon are being held on $1.5 million bail. When the five-year-old died, the charges against the men were increased from attempted murder to second-degree murder.
Because this is a porn site, I will now talk about Brian Surewood and his job.
Surewood is known as a well-liked, laid back, and dependable performer, a veteran of more than 1,000 movies in an 11-year career. He is a character who used to take lead roles in movies but, now that he affects the dress of a San Fernando Valley pirate, gets parts that are crazier. It is reported that he was leaving a porn set when the accident occurred, and what set off the flight down Sherman Way is unclear.
Surewood is loyal to his friends and has often volubly interceded on their behalves (I once saw him shouting at a porn convention functionary who wasn't letting an adult industry friend onto the premises). This is the extent to which I have seen a dark side to his character.
As LAPD Capt. Ron Marbrey said, "This incident did not have to happen." It is a tragic end to something that happens in Los Angeles every day. I feel sick about it.
If readers know of a place where donations may be sent to the family, whose name is Arif, please let me know via gram--at--gramponante.com.
Stories tagged "brian surewood" and "legal": http://www.gramponante.com/labels/brian%20surewood.html
Previously: Asia Carrera 4-on-1; Pornic Voices: The Skin Trade (fleshbot); Gang Bang Vol. 5
See also: 5-year-old dies of road rage injuries (dailynews.com), Boy, 5, hurt in road rage accident dies (latimes.com)Labels: brian surewood, legal, news
posted by Gram the Man
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While GramPonante.com is written for a tenth-grade reading level (in some countries), you must be 18 years or older to visit this site. Sorry.
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Porn performer Brian Surewood and co-defendant Armando Ayon appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, Van Nuys Division today for a joint arraignment. Their case was continued for a pre-trial conference on June 26.
