Thread: 1st-, 2nd-degree murder charges tossed in death of Ramirez

Judge finds no evidence that three suspects intended to kill Mexican.

By John J. Moser | Of The Morning Call

On a dark Shenandoah street on July 12, a group of teens spent the night drinking, then got into a fight with a man in which one sucker-punched the man -- knocking him down so hard his head bounced off the macadam -- and another kicked him in the head as he lay prone.

But the fight with Luis Ramirez, 25, doesn't qualify as an intentional killing, District Judge Anthony Kilker ruled Monday.

For that reason, Kilker threw out first- and second-degree murder charges against Colin J. Walsh, 17, and Brandon J. Piekarsky, 16, along with the possibility of life-in-prison sentences the charges carry.

Instead, Walsh and Piekarsky will face Schuylkill County Court on charges of third-degree murder, voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, and related offenses in the incident.

Kilker's ruling on what police say was a racially motivated fatal beating of Ramirez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, came after the proceeding was briefly interrupted by about 40 protesters, who were yelling outside the Pottsville courthouse.

A defense attorney complained that the protesters, from workers' and immigrants' rights groups, were creating a distraction. The protesters were ordered to keep quiet or they'd be forced to move.

Besides ruling on Walsh and Piekarsky, Kilker said Derrick M. Donchak, 18, must face charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and

related counts. Donchak also faces an assault with a deadly weapon count, added Monday based on evidence he had a heavy metal object in his hand while hitting Ramirez.

All three also will face charges of charges of ethnic intimidation. Police have said the teens used racial slurs during the episode.

They also will face the charges in adult court. Defense lawyers' petitions to send Walsh's and Piekarsky's cases to juvenile court were withdrawn Monday, Assistant District Attorney A.J. Serena said.

Walsh and Piekarsky could have faced life in prison if convicted of first- or second-degree murder charges.

Instead, third-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison; aggravated assault carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

With the most serious charges removed, the teens -- who have been in prison without bail since their July 25 arrest -- are eligible to be released, but prosecutors said their lawyers must petition the court to set bail.

Ramirez's fiancee, Crystal Dillman, said she was ''happy all the charges stuck'' after the most serious counts were thrown out. Then Dillman, who frequently cried in court Monday, said, ''Now I have to go home to my kids.'' Ramirez was the father of two of her children, ages 1 and 2; she also has an older daughter.

Neither the teens nor their attorneys commented on the ruling after the hearing. But in his argument, Piekarsky's attorney, Frederick Fanelli, said dismissal was warranted because ''this was an unplanned, unanticipated fight. ... Let's call it what it was and be fair.''

Authorities have said a 17-year-old boy whom they have not identified also will be charged.

In a six-hour preliminary hearing, Joseph Benjamin Lawson Jr., 17, testified he and the five others in the group drank liquor in the woods before going to the Polish-American Fire Company block party, where they argued with a firefighter about ''messing around'' with other football players.

All three of the accused played on Shenandoah Valley High School's football team last year. Donchak was the quarterback. Lawson testified that, at the block party, Donchak was especially angry.

As they walked to Donchak's house, he testified, they came across Ramirez and Dillman's half-sister, Roxanne, 15, at the park. According to Lawson, another teen, Brian Scully, who has not been charged, said to the girl, ''Isn't it a little late for you to be out?''

The girl didn't answer, but Ramirez replied in Spanish, and Scully replied, ''This is Shenandoah, this is America, go back to Mexico,'' and used racial slurs. The two began fighting, Lawson said.

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Donchak hurried to join in, Lawson testified. Ramirez went down and the others stood around him, kicking him to the head and torso, Lawson said. But it was after Ramirez got up, while fighting with Donchak, that Lawson said Walsh ran up and sucker-punched him in the face.

Ramirez fell to the ground with such force his head bounced off the macadam, leaving him unconscious. Then Piekarsky administered a final kick to the head, Lawson said.

Police say Ramirez lapsed into a coma and died two days later in Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, of head injuries -- including a fractured skull.

Defense attorneys attempted to impugn Lawson's account, noting he testified to drinking almost a gallon of malt liquor and was recalling details from a chaotic fight on a dark street.

'Is that it?'' Fanelli asked Kilker. ''You're going to hang a young man's life in the balance on an admittedly inebriated 16-year-old on a dark street corner 100 feet away?''

They also repeatedly pointed out that Ramirez had several chances to leave the park -- witnesses testified Dillman's half-sister loudly told him to do so -- and that he was an aggressor in the fight.

''You may not have understood the words [he used], but you understood the tone,'' Fanelli said to Lawson on cross-examination. ''That tone was aggressive. And as this man, in his aggressive posture, approached Mr. Scully, you knew there was going to be trouble.''

Under cross examination, Lawson also said he had been pressured by FBI agents to recant an initial, incomplete statement he gave to police in favor of a later statement.

Testimony also showed that as many as four other Hispanics came to the scene during the brawl, and that it was Donchak who called police, saying someone had a gun. While Lawson said he didn't see a gun, Fanelli said Walsh, Piekarsky and another teen did.

Fanelli also noted from Ramirez's autopsy report said he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.15 percent -- about twice the level state law says is too drunk to drive -- and the drug benzodiazapene in his system.

Fanelli and the other defense attorneys -- Roger Laguna of Harrisburg representing Walsh and Jeffrey Markosky of Mahanoy City representing Donchak -- also said there was no testimony or evidence about what killed Ramirez -- an accumulation of blows, a kick or the sucker punch.

But Assistant District Attorney Robert P. Frantz said Pennsylvania law's ''accomplice liability'' means even the least involved is culpable for the worst offense.

Earlier in the hearing, defense lawyers also closely cross-examined Dillman about statements that she and Ramirez -- who entered the United States illegally six years ago -- didn't live together and that she didn't know where he was that night. They also asked why Ramirez was with Dillman's half-sister in a dark park.

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They have also dropped the petitions to be tried as juveniles (Colin Walsh and Brandon Piekarsky), opting for a trial by jury. That, IMHO, is an excellent option, as juvenile hearings almost always end up with a guilty verdict. A trial by jury would have more of an opportunity to get the evidence sorted out to a judge who has time to listen to it all. (Juvie judges sometimes limit the time on each hearing).

ILLEGALS SHOULD NOT BE IN AMERICA

WE ARE LUCKY MORE PEOPLE ARE NOT DEAD FROM THIS HORRIBLE ENCOUNTER.

They also repeatedly pointed out that Ramirez had several chances to leave the park -- witnesses testified Dillman's half-sister loudly told him to do so -- and that he was an aggressor in the fight.

I was always told that once you were considered an adult, you were the one responsible for using all other avenues to avoid any physical contact with a minor. I had a neighbor in Florida who was being robbed by kids and he grabbed one kid by the shirt as he was trying to crawl out the window to hold for police while his wife was calling for help.......my neighbor was charged with assult for tearing the shirt.

My daughter said there are alot of Jr.High kids who hang out in mobs just to attack older kids and if you are 18 and touch one of them or fight back, you are charged with assult. They know this and it's a sad game they play. They have brass knuckles and everything, so it's intentional and they go around bragging about how bad they are coz they kicked the doo-doo out of somebody.

It's unfortunate this man died but it was an accident and one wonders how much his own alcohol consumption affected his ability to recover.

''You may not have understood the words [he used], but you understood the tone,'' Fanelli said to Lawson on cross-examination. ''That tone was aggressive. And as this man, in his aggressive posture, approached Mr. Scully, you knew there was going to be trouble.''

And who's to say he wasn't making "racial slurs" as well but the boys didn't understand them because they were in Spanish.

But the fight with Luis Ramirez, 25, doesn't qualify as an intentional killing, District Judge Anthony Kilker ruled Monday.

For that reason, Kilker threw out first- and second-degree murder charges against Colin J. Walsh, 17, and Brandon J. Piekarsky, 16, along with the possibility of life-in-prison sentences the charges carry.

Finally...a judge that is able to use some common sense and not be influenced by the demands and threats of the illegal invaders in this country!

Oh my, will the illegals REALLY RAISE HELL over this!

Is "ethnic intimidate" the same as being charged with a hate crime? Originally it was reported the American kids were being charged with a hate crime, now it says they are charged with ethnic intimidation.

Originally Posted by SeaTurtle

But it was after Ramirez got up, while fighting with Donchak, that Lawson said Walsh ran up and sucker-punched him in the face.

How do you sucker punch someone in the face, unless they are 2 feet shorter than you?

Originally Posted by Bowman

Originally Posted by SeaTurtle

But it was after Ramirez got up, while fighting with Donchak, that Lawson said Walsh ran up and sucker-punched him in the face.

How do you sucker punch someone in the face, unless they are 2 feet shorter than you?

This was apparently a very chaotic fight, with Ramirez going back after the boys over and over again. Colin Walsh was several inches taller than Ramirez, who stood at about 5'4.
What I'm getting at is if someone is attacking you and your friends and pulls a gun out and puts it in your face, you're going to fight for survival. If that means running up and sucker-punching someone, then that's what you do.

I often wonder what excuse would have been made for Ramirez had his underage paramour been found dead on that street instead by Ramirez's hand. They may have saved her life, really. Ruined they're own, but saved her.