Local News in Brief : 2 Clerks Accused of Beating Young Customers to Be Tried

A pair of Agoura Hills convenience store clerks were ordered Friday to stand trial on charges that they beat two young boys, including one who is disabled, after the boys complained that some beef jerky they had purchased was spoiled.

Anil Kumar, 41, and Balbir Naryan, 25, are accused of assault and battery in the Nov. 9 incident at a 7-Eleven store at 5683 Lake Lindero Drive. Arraignment was set for Jan. 31 in Van Nuys Superior Court.

The two boys testified Friday in Calabasas Municipal Court that the alleged attack was unprovoked. They said they had asked for their money back after discovering that beef jerky they had just bought at the store was “green and moldy.”

Adam Warren, who was 13 at the time of the incident, testified he received a broken elbow when, he said, Kumar dragged him out of the store and Naryan struck him with a mop handle.

Scott Anderson, 12, who testified that he was on crutches when Kumar shoved him out of the market and slugged him in the ribs, said he was hospitalized overnight for treatment of internal injuries caused by the blow.

Scott told Municipal Court Commissioner Richard Brand that his use of crutches stemmed from being run over by a van last March.

Kumar and Naryan did not testify at Friday’s preliminary hearing.