Manslaughter charges filed in teenager’s death

On his Myspace.com personal page—a popular Internet site where guests post their online profiles—Thousand Oaks resident Sean Michael Gittens seems to have a hard time choosing between the clean-cut image of an allAmerican teenager or that of a drug addled, gun-toting, want-tobe-gangster.

But if the Ventura County District Attorney’s office has anything to say about it, Gittens’ newest persona will be that of a convicted felon facing a lengthy prison sentence.

The district attorney’s office announced Wednesday it will charge Gittens with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated for the Oct. 17, 2005 death of Agoura Hills resident Krystin Jean Shank, 18.

According to Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Frawley, Gittens will be arraigned today. Frawley said Gittens faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. His bail is set at $250,000.

Authorities wouldn’t comment on Gittens’ blood alcohol level or whether he tested positive for additional drugs.

“I believe that he is extremely negligent and showed no regard for my daughter’s life with the way he was driving the car that day,” said Gayle Shank, Krystin’s mother . “(Gittens) has shown no remorse, so I am hoping that he gets the proper punishment.”

Pier Gittens, Sean’s mother, said he’s “intensely remorseful” about the car crash.

According to police, Gittens was driving his 1996 Ford Explorer southbound on Westlake Boulevard when he lost control of the vehicle. The SUV jumped the median and collided with an oak tree in the center divider. Shank was a passenger in Gittens’ car and was killed on impact.

“I think when the facts of the case come out, I know that it’s going to show that it was just a horrendous accident and that it was not due to any negligence on Sean’s part,” Pier Gittens said.

“Our entire family . . . is completely mourning for Krystin,” Pier Gittens said. “My heart continues to grieve for Gayle and her family.”

At the time of the accident, Gittens was on probation for a juvenile offense and was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet, police said.

Gittens, 18, was moved to the county jail from the juvenile detention center in Oxnard, where he was an inmate for violating probation stemming from several juvenile offenses he committed while still a student at Westlake High School, sources said.

Between September 2004 and May 2005, Gittens had five moving violations on his driving record—one of which was for speeding. Less than a month before the accident in which Shank died, Gittens had been dismissed for another speeding violation in June 2005.

A 2005 graduate of Westlake High School, Gittens was both a member of the varsity football team and a performer in the school’s singing ensemble. His clean-cut image, however, may have only been a façade.

From the scores of references to drinking, drugs, gangs and sex on his personal profile on the MySpace.com Website, it seems that Gittens preferred to project the image of a criminal.

On his homepage, Gittens wrote the following under a listing for general information about himself: “smoking, drinkin, and sex . . . sellin nitrous, acid, extasy, shrooms, pills and a whole lota pot . . . kickin it with . . . all the homies from my lil 05 westlake kick . . . i love smoking . . . i dont care what i am doin . . . live life to the fullest, and if your gonna do something do it bigg fo sho.”

On his website, Gittens called Shank “the one and only girl i have ever loved . . .” and said, “you will remain in my heart memory and soul, i love you soo much, you mean the world to me and you will forever be missed.”

The pictures of Gittens range from him posing with guns and flashing gang signs to him photographed outdoors in what looks like his senior picture. In each of the photos, however, Gittens continues to brag about his drug use.

Deputies with the Thousand Oaks gang unit said they know Gittens, but that he wasn’t affiliated with any gang. Senior Dep. Dan Hawes said the gang signs Gittens showed in the pictures typically signify “Westside.”

Hawes said Gittens’ use of the gang sign was more for show than for actual gang membership.

After the Acorn contacted Pier Gittens on Mon., Feb 13, the online profile was edited to delete the references to drugs and the pictures of Gittens holding the gun.