SAN DIEGO — The alleged ringleader of the "Bird Rock Bandits" stands alone charged with murder in the fatal beating of professional surfer Emery Kauanui following guilty pleas to lesser charges yesterday by four other upper middle-class young men reputed to be a band of local toughs.

Kauanui, nicknamed the "Flying Hawaiian," grew up on Kaua'i.

Seth Cravens, 22, re-entered a not-guilty plea to murder and agreed to face trial in August after his attorney rejected an unspecified plea offer from prosecutors. He remained jailed in lieu of $1.5 million bail.

"The most my client could be convicted of, as far as I'm concerned, is involuntary manslaughter," said lawyer Mary Ellen Attridge. "Their offer was in excess of that."

Deputy District Attorney Sophia Roach declined comment.

Kauanui's killing was an aberration in the La Jolla section of San Diego, a Southern California postcard community. The 24-year-old Kauanui was a fixture at Windansea Beach, near his home, where his favorite surf break is now called "Emery's Left."

All five defendants were initially charged with murder, but four took plea deals with lesser charges.

Eric House, 21, Orlando Osuna, 23, and Matthew Yanke, 21, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, telling the court they knew an attack on Kauanui was likely when they drove to his home after exchanging threats outside a nearby pub last year.

Osuna and Yanke also pleaded guilty to unrelated counts of misdemeanor battery.

Another defendant, Henri "Hank" Hendricks, 22, pleaded guilty to a felony of being an accessory to the death, and an unrelated misdemeanor battery.

Osuna faces up to five years and six months in prison, while House and Yanke face up to three years and six months. Hendricks faces up to three years in prison, though prosecutors agreed to convert his felony conviction into a misdemeanor if he stays out of trouble for the next two years.

All qualify for probation-only sentences when they are sentenced in September, according to a district attorney's spokesman.