Three land in jail after Tuesday brawl in South Lake Tahoe

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to a brawl in progress at the mid-town Jack in the Box on Tuesday afternoon. When they arrived they found two men and a woman confronting a man. The suspects had a bat and a slungshot (homemade weapon with a weight on the end of a rope) on them according to Detective Doug Sentell of the SLTPD. Sentell said that even though a bat was present it wasn't used on the victim.

Arrested on numerous charges were Jose Medina, 20, Chynna Benecke, 24, and Matthew Yelner, 26. Charges include criminal threats, conspiracy to commit a crime, assault with a deadly weapon that isn't a firearm, use of the slungshot, obstruction of a public officer and possession of a controlled substance. Medina's bail was set at $138,000, Benecke's at $82,500 and Yelner sits in jail in lieu of $46,500.

Sentell told South Tahoe Now that the group involved has some prior gang contacts but this wasn't necessarily a gang crime.

The victim, who is unnamed, was treated at the scene.