LA JOLLA — The reversal of a second-degree murder conviction for Seth Cravens surprised some when the 4th District Court of Appeals issued its opinion in August concerning the 2007 death of La Jolla surfer Emery Kauanui, Jr. at the hands of a member of the so-called “Bird Rock Bandits.” The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office appealed the appellate court’s decision, and last week the state Supreme Court agreed to review the ruling overturnng the second-degree murder conviction. Cravens, 24, of La Jolla, remains in prison until the matter is resolved. The reversal of Cravens’ murder conviction wiped out his original sentence of 20 years to life. Instead, the appellate court found Cravens guilty of voluntary manslaughter and did not grant a new trial. The maximum sentence for manslaughter is 16 years. The appeals court ruled there was not enough evidence to show Cravens knew his punch to Kauanui’s face would be fatal. The punch dropped Kauanui, 24, to the ground, fracturing his skull when it hit the pavement outside his home on May 24, 2007. Prosecutor Sophia Roach said she thought the appellate ruling to reduce the conviction to manslaughter was unusual and backed her office’s appeal to the state Supreme Court. Cravens was tried for murder and unrelated assaults on other people in La Jolla, and was convicted in 2009. The ruling does not affect the cases of three other so-called “Bird Rock Bandits,” who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Kauanui case. Matthew Yanke, 23, Orlando Osuna, 24, and Eric House, 22, all of La Jolla, were initially sentenced to jail terms and three years of probation in 2008. However, they were all found to have repeatedly violated probation terms by drinking alcohol, using marijuana or associating with one another. On Jan. 22, all three were sentenced to three years in separate prisons. — Neal Putnam