Haven French, 17, charged in beating, Tiyan High students expelled

Angry, upset, shocked, just a few words that would probably describe how one would have felt when they saw that viral video of a minor being jumped by several other kids at a bus stop.

The Guam Police Department arrested three teens, one of whom was officially charged by the Attorney General's office


Three teenagers: two 15-year-olds and a 17-year-old arrested for aggravated assault on Tuesday, and just today GPD announcing one of them facing a more serious charge.

"Our juvenile investigators continued the case and of course through the course of their findings they've added additional charges of attempted murder to the 17-year-old so this really expands the investigation," police spokesperson Sgt. Paul Tapao said.

According to the magistrate's complaint filed by the Office of the Attorney General, the 17-year old, identified as Haven Gail French was only officially charged with two counts of Aggravated Assault and Assault with special allegations of vulnerable victim. As we reported French was with the two other teenagers, all students of Tiyan High School, who were recorded on video that went viral assaulting another teenager near a bus stop in Dededo last Friday.

According to court documents police were called to Tiyan High on Monday and met with the assistant principal who was concerned about a potential riot because of what happened at the bus stop. A witness told police that it all started on a school bus where the victim and another student were verbally arguing. When they arrived to the bus stop, French and the victim then started arguing, but another student "cheap shot" the victim and the assault ensued. Court documents state that although French pulled out a pocket knife and unfolded the blade, he placed the knife back into the folding position and struck the victim twice. The victim was transported to the hospital where he sustained a concussion. Tapao says the investigation isn't over.


In the video, some people weren't involved in the assault but were cheering them on. We asked if those kids could face charges.

"It has been done before in the past," Tapao said. "This was one of the things that was brought up. That was really when we started seeing the rise of social media fights and everything that dealt with our high school kids. Everybody and anybody that was there, they're going to be brought in to be interviewed relative to what had happened and what transpired."

Although the Guam Department of Education is also conducting an investigation, according to the magistrate's complaint all three students involved in the assault were expelled. GPD in the meantime is hoping parents will communicate with their children.


"To teach them how to make good decision-making skills because really it really does boil down to good decision-making skills," Tapao said. "To determine what's right and what's wrong. "So understanding what they can do they play an important factor relative to any incident that their kids are involved in."

French appeared before Superior Court Judge Jonathan Quan this afternoon for his magistrates hearing.

Cash Bail was set at $20,000 and was assigned public defender attorney David Highsmith. His next hearing was scheduled for March 13.

The AG's office did request for $25,000 cash bail telling the court that it has a strong case because there is video evidence of the entire incident and they will be able to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.