San Diego police investigators aren't sure what triggered a deadly confrontation between a 24-year-old professional surfer, who was born on Kaua'i and who lived there for the first 12 years of his life, and four young men he later grew up with in La Jolla, Calif.

Emery Kauanui Jr. died Monday at a hospital in California after being beaten outside his mother's La Jolla condominium a few days earlier, San Diego police officials said yesterday.

San Diego homicide Lt. Kevin Rooney said Kauanui got into an altercation with another man at a bar in La Jolla about 12:05 a.m. May 24, then left alone and headed to his mother's condominium.

Kauanui and the man he had been arguing with had been "expelled" from the bar, Rooney said.

"The fight flared up again about 1:35 a.m. in front of the mother's condominium. It started out as a one-on-one thing and later turned into a four-on-one thing," Rooney said.

Kauanui was taken to the hospital with a head injury.

"There were hopes based on his age and his overall condition that he was going to survive this and that his health was going to improve," Rooney said.

After Kauanui died just past noon on Monday, police began arresting those involved in the beating, Rooney said.

Seth Cravens, 21; Eric House, 20; Orlando Osuna, 22; and Matthew Yanke, 20, are being held for suspicion of murder, Rooney said.

The case will be presented to the San Diego County district attorney today, Rooney said. He said the district attorney will then decide whether to pursue a murder case against the four or to possibly reduce the charge to manslaughter.

Kauanui "grew up with" the men accused of killing him, Rooney said.

Todd Bartlett, whose Liquid Foundation surf shop sponsored Kauanui, said he and the shop's employees were stunned at the news that Kauanui had died as a result of the beating.

"He was just a great surfer and a great waterman," Bartlett said. "He really had a deep, deep love for his family and his friends. He absolutely loved to be outdoors, whether it was pitching horseshoes or being in the water."

Bartlett said Liquid Foundation began sponsoring Kauanui at age 17.

He said Kauanui's father, Emery Kauanui Sr., still lives on Kaua'i and is active in the surfing community there. The father could not be reached yesterday at his home on Kaua'i.

Emery Kauanui's mother, Cynthia Kauanui, moved her family to San Diego after Hurricane Iniki destroyed her home in 1992.

Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com.