Thread: PA-Defense lawyer: Teen who took deal killed immigrant

Defense lawyer: Teen who took deal killed immigrant

1:25 PM EDT, April 27, 2009




POTTSVILLE - The Mexican man fatally injured during a fight in Schuylkill County last July was killed by a blow from a teenager against whom charges have been dropped, defense attorneys for the two remaining defendants told a jury here this morning.

And that blow came only after two other Latinos called by the victim, Luis Ramirez, 25, arrived at the scene, the attorneys said. A third Hispanic whom Ramirez called via cell phone later showed up with a handgun that he pointed at the defendants, the attorneys said. Ramirez was in the country illegally.

Colin Walsh, 18, a week ago pleaded guilty to violating Ramirez's civil rights in the federal Fair Housing Act in exchange for county charges -- including third-degree murder -- being dropped, attorney Frederick Fanelli said today.

Fanelli questioned that arrangement, and asserted that Colin landed the blow that eventually killed Ramirez.



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Jury selection in immigrant beating death trial Video Fanelli represents Brandon J. Piekarsky, 17. Derrick M. Donchak, 19, is the other defendant on trial. Both defendants are from Shenandoah.

Fanelli also said Ramirez was the aggressor in the incidents, confronting the three boys and three others by angrily coming out of the shadows at a playground after they had told a 15-year-old girl she was out too late. Prosecutors in their opening statement said the girl was Ramirez's fiancee. That contradicted earlier statements that Ramirez was engaged to Crystal Dillman, by whom he has fathered two children.

After Ramirez briefly exchanged punches with two of the teenagers, Fanelli told the jury, the encounter ended and the accused were walking away, with Donchak saying, "It's over!" But when two people Ramirez had phoned arrived, he charged the teens and landed six punches to the back of head of a fourth teen, Brian Scully.

The defense lawyers said it was Scully who first yelled racial slurs at Ramirez and scuffled with him. Scully is charged as a juvenile in the case.

That rekindled the fight, and Walsh hit Ramirez with a "runner" -- a running, blind punch that knocked him down so hard his head bounced off the concrete street, both prosecutors and defense attorneys said.

The attorneys disagreed over whether that blow killed Ramirez. Fanelli insisted it did: "He was dead when he hit the ground."

-- Reporting by John J. Moser, The Morning Call

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-imm ... ?track=rss

Very interesting! Lots of details are coming out on this story now that it is in court that the media did not release before.

W

Lots of details are coming out on this story now that it is in court that the media did not release before.

Isn't there always? The media is intent on making the illegals these poor, poor, victims when in fact they aren't victims at all.....

Updated: 37 minutes ago

Accounts differ over fatal beating of immigrant
The Morning Call
5:31 PM EDT, April 27, 2009



Read all 102 comments »

POTTSVILLE - The Mexican man fatally injured during a fight in Schuylkill County last July was killed by a blow from a teenager against whom charges have been dropped, defense attorneys for the two remaining defendants told a jury here this morning.

And that blow came only after two other Latinos called by the victim, Luis Ramirez, 25, arrived at the scene, the attorneys said. A third Latino whom Ramirez called via cell phone later showed up with a handgun that he pointed at the defendants, the attorneys said. A state police trooper later testified a gun was found near the scene.

Ramirez was in the country illegally.

Colin Walsh, 18, a week ago pleaded guilty to violating Ramirez's civil rights in the federal Fair Housing Act in exchange for county charges -- including third-degree murder -- being dropped, attorney Frederick Fanelli said today. Fanelli represents Brandon J. Piekarsky, 17. Derrick M. Donchak, 19, is the other defendant on trial. Both defendants are from Shenandoah.

Jury selection in immigrant beating death trial Video Fanelli questioned Walsh's plea during testimony, but after court said he could not explain it because a federal judge has sealed it. District Attorney James P. Goodman said he could not discuss it.

But also during the trial, one of the teens not charged in the incident and who testified for prosecutors today -- Ben Lawson, 18, of Shenandoah -- testified that he also has testified before a federal grand jury in Scranton regarding the case. Grand jury proceedings are secret, and efforts to reach U.S. Justice Department officials today were unsuccessful. "You'd have to ask him what that's about," Fanelli said.

But in court, Fanelli and Donchak's attorney, Jeffrey Markosky, contended that Walsh landed the blow that eventually killed Ramirez.

Fanelli also said Ramirez was the aggressor in the incidents, confronting the three boys and three others by angrily coming out of the shadows at a playground after they had told a 15-year-old girl she was out too late. The girl later testified that Ramirez had been her boyfriend for more than a year, that they had a sexual relationship, and that days before the incident he had proposed to her and gave her an engagement ring.

That contradicted earlier statements that Ramirez was engaged to Crystal Dillman, with whom he had fathered two children.

But Judge William Baldwin would not let defense attorneys ask the girl about the relationship, saying he allowed her to acknowledge it only to let the jury decide about her interests in the case.

"This is not a trial about whether Mr. Ramirez was a good or bad guy," Baldwin said. "It's a trial about what happened that night at the park."

The girl said the boys shouted at Ramirez and he twice replied, "What's your problem?'' before finally removing his shirt and medallion and giving them to her with his wallet while starting to walk toward the teens, who were running toward him.

Ramirez briefly exchanged punches with two of the teenagers, then was on the ground being pummeled before a brief break in the melee.

Fanelli told the jury the encounter had ended and the accused were walking away, with Donchak saying, "It's over!" But when two people Ramirez had phoned arrived, he charged the teens, Fanelli said, and landed six punches to the back of the head of a fourth teen, Brian Scully.

The defense lawyers said it was Scully who first yelled racial slurs at Ramirez and scuffled with him. Scully is charged as a juvenile in the case.

The girl testified the break was brief before punches resumed. She said one of the people who arrived, Ariel Garcia, came to her, and Garcia's husband, Victor, went to Ramirez. When she turned back, the girl testified, Ramirez was on the ground and the teens had left.

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys said Walsh hit Ramirez with a "runner" -- a running, blind punch that knocked him down so hard his head bounced off the concrete street.

The attorneys disagreed over whether that blow killed Ramirez. Fanelli insisted it did. "He was dead when he hit the ground," he said.

Schuylkill County officials braced for large protests outside the courthouse, but they never materialized. Just three people -- a couple from Luzerne County and a man from Shenandoah Heights -- carried signs in front of the courthouse. The couple said they were there to support the defendants and their families and the Shenandoah Heights man said he wants to see immigration laws strengthened and enforced.

Valerie Burch, an attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union, monitored the area around the courthouse to make sure people could exercise their right to free speech.

Schuylkill County Sheriff Joe Brody had brought his 13 deputies in early in case of protests, and Pottsville and state police had patrolled the area, but the day was uneventful.

-- Reporting by John J. Moser, The Morning Call



http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-imm ... ?track=rss

Pa. teen says he yelled slurs at Mexican immigrant





April 28, 2009 1:13 PM ET

POTTSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - An eastern Pennsylvania teenager has admitted to instigating a brawl with an illegal Mexican immigrant who died in the fight with the teen's friends.

Brian Scully says he yelled racial slurs at Luis Ramirez on a street in the small town of Shenandoah last summer.

Scully is charged in juvenile court with aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation. He testified Tuesday against two friends facing adult charges in connection with the fatal beating of the 25-year-old factory worker and farmhand.

Seventeen-year-old Brandon Piekarsky is charged with third-degree murder and 19-year-old Derrick Donchak with aggravated assault. Prosecutors call it a hate crime.

Scully says a fourth teen, Colin Walsh, knocked Ramirez out. He says Piekarsky kicked him while Ramirez lay unconscious in the street.



http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=10264297

Slaying witness says she saw the final kick
Prosecution rests case in beating death of immigrant man in Schuylkill
By John J. Moser
April 30, 2009

A friend of the Mexican man who was beaten to death in Shenandoah told a Schuylkill County jury Wednesday she saw the final kick to his head as she knelt beside him.

Testifying for the defense, Ariel Garcia said the kicker's shoe was white and blue. The teen who prosecutors say delivered the fatal kick to 25-year-old Luis Ramirez was wearing gray sneakers, according to previous testimony.

Also, a friend of Brandon Piekarsky, 17, and Derrick Donchak, 19, who are on trial in Ramirez's death, testified Wednesday he didn't see Piekarsky kick Ramirez but that Piekarsky later told him he had kicked the man.

The friend, 18-year-old Joshua Redmond, was the prosecution's final scheduled witness after three days of testimony. District Attorney James Goodman was expected to rest his case Thursday.

Redmond also was the first witness to say Donchak shouted ethnic slurs. One of the charges against the accused, both white, is ethnic intimidation. Police say they shouted slurs July 12 as they beat Ramirez, an illegal immigrant. No witness attributed slurs to Piekarsky.

According to testimony, the teens encountered Ramirez and his girlfriend, Roxanne Rector, 15, in a borough park. Redmond testified that another teen, Brian Scully, 18, told Rector it was too late for her to be out, and Ramirez responded angrily in Spanish.

Redmond said Scully, Donchak and Colin Walsh, 18, shouted slurs, that Ramirez threw the first punch and that he and Piekarsky fought.

Two forensic pathologists have testified that blows to both the back and side of Ramirez's head caused skull fractures, but they could not say whether either one killed him.

Defense attorneys say Ramirez's death was caused by a punch from Walsh that felled him so hard his head bounced off the concrete.

Third-degree murder charges against Walsh were dropped after he pleaded guilty in federal court to violating Ramirez's civil rights. He testified Tuesday for the prosecution.

Garcia testified as a defense witness -- even though the prosecution was still presenting its case -- because she is about to give birth and attorneys were concerned she may not be available later.

She said the kicker's shoe was white and blue. That's the color of shoes the defense attorneys have said were worn by Scully, who is charged as a juvenile and on Tuesday testified for the prosecution to identify Piekarsky as the kicker. Piekarsky wore gray sneakers, according to testimony earlier this week.

Garcia testified she didn't see the kicker's face, but turned to see only Scully, who ''looked nervous.'' She said she ran after him and told him he had killed Ramirez, but Scully replied, ''He's not dead, he's still breathing.''

Garcia said Scully told her to tell authorities, ''You don't know us.''

Forensic pathologist Barbara Bollinger testified her autopsy showed a fracture on the side of Ramirez's skull -- where prosecutors say Piekarsky kicked him -- and one to the back of the skull. She ruled that Ramirez died of ''blunt force injuries.''

Another pathologist, Isidore Mihalakis of Allentown, said the ''combined effect'' of both injuries caused Ramirez's death.

Garcia testified she and her husband, Victor, came to the scene after Ramirez called them on his cell phone, and found him and the teens walking away from each other. But she said Scully was shouting slurs at Ramirez and asking, ''You wanna fight?''

Then, she said, Scully and Ramirez charged at each other and got into another fight. She said her husband broke it up and punched Walsh, who backed off, the wind knocked out of him.

Redmond said Walsh then hit Ramirez with ''a sucker punch, a cheap shot.''

Redmond also was the second teen to testify Shenandoah police officers took Piekarsky back to the beating scene that night. He said he believed the officers were Jason Hayes, the boyfriend of Piekarsky's mother, Tammey, and Bill Moyer, whose son played football with the defendants.

But Redmond said they took Piekarsky to the scene to identify a Hispanic man who the teens said held a handgun on them after the brawl. Redmond testified Donchak had called police because of the gun, and waited for them to arrive.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a4_ ... 3550.story

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

Very interesting! Lots of details are coming out on this story now that it is in court that the media did not release before.

W

Actually, PA Pundits has been telling the true story from the get-go. I know how anal you are about "news sources" having to be MSM, but I have to tell you, John Moser, the guy who wrote this for the Allentown Morning Call, is a liberal cheeseball. He twists his stories to fit his agenda. This is the first article I've ever seen from him that didn't make the boys sound like racist hatemongers.

Jury begins deliberations in Schuylkill County immigrant beating case

Friday May 01, 2009, 3:18 PM

POTTSVILLE, Pa. -- A jury is deliberating the fates of two eastern Pennsylvania teenagers charged in connection with the death of an illegal Mexican immigrant last summer.

Robert Franz, the Schuykill County assistant district attorney, said in his closing argument Friday that a group of white teens yelled ethnic slurs at 25-year-old Luis Ramirez as they beat and kicked him July 12 in the small town of Shenandoah. Franz told jurors that 17-year-old Brandon Piekarsky kicked Ramirez in the head as he lay unconscious in a street.

Defense attorney Fred Fanelli says prosecutors got the wrong guy. He says the evidence clearly points to another teen as the kicker. A co-defendant, 19-year-old Derrick Donchak, is charged with aggravated assault.


http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index. ... _in_s.html

NOT guilty!!!

WOOT!!!

Piekarsky only guilty of simple assault, and Donchack guilty only of simple assault, corruption of minors, and providing alcohol to minors.