I came to this thread late, but even before reading all the way through it, I was prepared to say that there may well have been other medical issues in play here. If the thief was a drug user and heavy smoker, he might have suffocated more easily than a normally healthy male. There are all sorts of factors that can confuse even the knowledgeable as to whether or not this was excessive force.His exact cause of death has not been officially determined since pathologists are still waiting for toxicology test results to see if he had any drugs or alcohol in his system, Oxspring said.
Just my opinion, but my guess is that the 4 guys did not set out to kill him. They were, after all, detaining him, presumably for the police who had been called; but they did also engage in a bit of "get some," because it doesn't seem like 4 grown and healthy men would need to repeatedly kick and punch someone who was down, even if on some level he deserved it, if detaining him for the police was the stated goal.
I don't think this rises to the level of murder, but it certainly looks like a manslaughter charge is imminent. I think the outcome is going to depend on whether their "peers" in the jury sympathize more with the thief than with the the accused.... ....OJ Simpson, and all that....