SAN DIEGO -- A woman said she saw three young men kicking a professional surfer while he was on the ground, then witnessed one of them punch the victim in the face when he got back up, causing him to hit his head on the pavement, an officer testified Monday.

The testimony from San Diego police Officer Benjamin Manansala came on the third day of a preliminary hearing for Seth Cravens, 22; Eric House, 21; Orlando Osuna, 23; Matthew Yanke, 21; and Henri Quinn-William Hendricks, 22. The five are charged with murder in the death last year of 24-year-old Emery Kauanui.

Manansala testified that he and his partner responded to a report of a violent disturbance at the intersection of Draper Avenue and Genter Street in La Jolla just after 1:30 a.m. last May 24.

As they came upon the scene, the officer said he used a spotlight to illuminate a man, later identified as House, who had no shirt on and was covered in blood.

House changed direction and walked toward the patrol car, and Manansala pulled out his Taser gun and ordered him to the ground, and he complied, the officer testified.

House was complaining about losing his tooth and was looking for it when officers arrived, Manansala said.

"He was agitated and wouldn't calm down," the officer told prosecutor Sophia Roach.

Manansala testified that he noticed Kauanui on the ground in a pool of blood, and immediately applied gauze to the back of his head.

Once at the hospital, a doctor told the officer that Kauanui had bleeding in the brain and would need neurosurgery, the officer testified.

Kauanui died four days later.

Manansala said Karen Loftus, a friend of the victim's, told him at the hospital that she was driving in the area when she saw Kauanui fighting with three males.

Loftus said she saw Kauanui on the ground being kicked, then witnessed the victim get up to fight off his attackers, the officer testified.

The woman told the officer that one of the males hit Kauanui in the face, knocking him out and causing him to fall back and hit his head.

"She said he (Kauanui) wasn't moving at all," Manansala said.

Loftus told him she then drove away and called 911, the officer testified.

Authorities allege it was Cravens who delivered a sucker-punch to Kauanui's jaw.

Investigators said the attack was precipitated by a drink-spilling incident at the La Jolla Brew House involving House, who was encouraged to fight Kauanui after the defendants allegedly followed the victim to his Draper Avenue home.

Prosecutors allege Osuna drove the other defendants to the fight scene and all were involved in kicking and beating Kauanui, a native of Hawaii and acclaimed surfer.

Roach said the defendants were part of a loosely knit gang called the "Bird Rock Bandits." She told Judge John Einhorn that the group was involved in a series of violent incidents, dating back to 2004.

Many of the alleged victims did not immediately report the incidents to police and said they didn't want those involved to be prosecuted.

Attorneys for the defendants told the judge that their clients liked to party and sometimes got into fights, but were not part of a gang. The attorneys also contend that none of their clients kicked or beat Kauanui after he was knocked to the ground.

At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing -- scheduled to last several more days -- Einhorn will decide if enough evidence has been presented to order the defendants to stand trial. Each faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted.