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Three teens charged with Mexican's murder
Three white teens were charged on Friday in what officials said was an epithet-filled fatal beating of an illegal Mexican immigrant in a small northeast Pennsylvania coal town.
- AP
- Published: 23:24 July 26, 2008
Port Carbon, Pennsylvania: Three white teens were charged on Friday in what officials said was an epithet-filled fatal beating of an illegal Mexican immigrant in a small northeast Pennsylvania coal town.
Brandon J. Piekarsky, 16, and Colin J. Walsh, 17, were charged as adults with homicide and ethnic intimidation in the July 12 attack on Luis Ramirez. A third teen, Derrick M. Donchak, 18, was charged with aggravated assault, ethnic intimidation and other offences.
All are from Shenandoah, where the attack occurred.
The case has roiled Shenandoah, a small, economically depressed town where police have reported friction between whites and a growing Hispanic population.
"As a result of this crime, a young man has lost his life. Many other lives have been devastated, and the borough of Shenandoah has been filled with tensions between many ethnic groups," Schuylkill County District Attorney James Goodman said.
According to a police affidavit, the defendants and three 17-year-olds encountered Ramirez, 25, and a teenage girl in a park the night of July 12.
Fight
The youths goaded Ramirez and the girl, saying, "You should get out of this neighbourhood" and "Get your Mexican boyfriend out of here", documents said. After Ramirez and the girl began walking away, someone yelled an ethnic slur at him, court documents said. He responded, "What's your problem?" A fight ensued, during which police said Walsh punched Ramirez in the face. The victim fell and hit his head on the street, leaving him unconscious, after which Piekarsky kicked him in the head, police said.
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