Man who mowed down students with his car, killing teen outside Westlake High, pleads guilty
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A 25-year-old man pleaded guilty Friday to murder and multiple attempted murders after a rampage in which he stabbed a person before ramming his car into a bus stop near Westlake High School, killing a 15-year-old and injuring five other students.
The family of the deceased teen, Wesley Welling, and some of the survivors of the April 18, 2023, attack watched as Austin Eis, showing almost no emotion, entered a guilty plea to the premeditated murder with special circumstances and numerous other charges. Eis, by entering the plea, agreed to be sentenced next month to 85 years to life in prison.
But because he is considered a youthful offender, Eis will be eligible for a parole hearing after serving 24 years, prosecutor Amber Lee said in an interview.
Lee, a senior deputy district attorney, said Ventura County prosecutors agreed to the plea because it avoids the survivors having to suffer the trauma of testifying to the deadly assaults.
Eis pleaded guilty to first-degree murder with special circumstances in the death of Wesley, multiple counts of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment by violence. He also admitted to special allegations, including personal use of a car and knife as a deadly weapon, and inflicting great bodily injury.
Two students were stabbed Monday at Verdugo Hills High in Tujunga. Both were hospitalized, and a suspect was detained.
“The defendant committed acts of terror and extreme violence that took the life of a teenage boy and shattered the lives of many others,” said Ventura County Dist. Atty. Erik Nasarenko. “While no number of guilty pleas will ever close the anguish of the victims and their families, they will ensure the defendant’s removal from society and impose accountability for his horrendous crimes.”
Eis traveled more than 30 miles to three locations, leaving a trail of bloodshed and mayhem during a pre-planned violent rampage, according to prosecutors.
After entering a Wal-Mart in Simi Valley, Eis assaulted a greeter by spitting, pepper-spraying and stabbing him multiple times, prosecutors said. Eis then physically assaulted a second employee and attempted to drag her away. When other employees tried to intervene, Eis lunged at them with a knife before running from the store, according to prosecutors.
About 40 minutes later, Eis barged into his family’s home in Camarillo, threatened multiple people with a knife and brandished a replica firearm, demanding access to additional weapons before fleeing, according to prosecutors.
Juan Villegas was despairing after the Eaton fire — many schools where he worked had been damaged in the blaze. Then he got back to work, and helped campuses reopen.
Eis then intentionally drove about 20 minutes to Westlake High School in Thousand Oaks as students were leaving school and plowed his car into students standing on a sidewalk near a bus stop, killing Wesley and injuring several others.
Witnesses reported that Eis accelerated toward the 15 students before striking them with his vehicle, which overturned after impact with a bus stop. Several students suffered severe injuries requiring surgery and extensive medical treatment. Some of those students attended Eis’ court proceedings at the Ventura courthouse as did friends of Wesley, who wore T-shirts with “Justice for Wesley” and his photograph emblazoned on the front.
Eis admitted to targeting the students out of personal frustrations and his desire to commit mass violence, according to prosecutors. Investigators discovered a long history of violent threats, including admiration for mass murderers and adherence to extremist ideologies. Text messages and communications showed that he had for years expressed intentions to carry out acts of violence, prosecutors said.
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