Area Cop Charged in Stabbing of 17-Year-Old Boy

By Paige Austin | Patch Staff

LAKE FOREST, CA — An Oak Forest police officer, his brother and his sister-in-law were arraigned in California on charges of assault and battery, accused of stabbing a teenage boy while he was out walking with his friend in Huntington Beach.

Arthur Edward Roman, 28, a police officer with the Oak Forest Police Department and a resident of Tinley Park, his brother Martin Mario Roman, 26, and Martin’s wife Jessica Monique Moran, 28, both of Lake Forest, CA, are each charged with one felony count of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and one misdemeanor count of battery.

Martin Mario Roman is also charged with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. If convicted, Arthur Roman and Jessica Roman each face a maximum sentence of four years in state prison, and Martin Roman faces a maximum sentence of five years.

Arthur Roman was immediately placed on leave when Oak Forest Police learned of his arrest.

According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Karam Jarrah, a 17-year-old boy, and his 31-year-old cousin were set upon by the trio as they walked past their car Feb. 28.

All three have pleaded not guilty and are currently free on bail as they await trial.

The incident started when Arthur Roman allegedly yelled at the victims. Martin Roman is accused of pushing the man to the ground and then wrapping his arm around his neck. Arthur Roman is accused of pushing and punching Jarrah, and Jessica Roman is accused of pushing the boy to the ground and kicking him in the head. Martin Roman allegedly then stabbed Jarrah repeatedly in the rear as he lay on the ground covering his head, according to prosecutors.

Shortly after the attack, Jarrah told reporters he beleived the attack was racially motivated.

"Was it like a racial issue? Was it because we were speaking Arabic," Karam Jarrah said in an interview with ABC Eyewitness News. "He was like, 'What's up 'obamabam?' I don't even know what that means."

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