PA teens Derrick Donchak and Brandon Piekarsky indicted on federal hate crime charges in death of Luis Ramirez.
Pennsylvania teenagers Derrick Donchak and Brandon Piekarsky and four Shenandoah police officers, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in a hate crimes investigation into the fatal attack on Luis Ramirez in July 2008. Separate indictments have been filed against the Shenandoah police chief, Matthew Nestor, and three officers under his command, for a variety of charges, including witness tampering and lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Nestor, Lt. William Moyer, and Officer Jason Hayes were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice during the investigation into the beating of Luis Ramirez. Moyer was charged with witness and evidence tampering, and lying to the FBI. The police chief and his second-in-command, James Gennarini, were charged with extortion and civil rights violations in a separate case. The two are accused of extorting cash payoffs from illegal gambling operations, and demanding a $2,000 payment from a local businessman in 2007 to release him from their custody.
I blogged about this heinous crime when it occurred and I was horrified to learn that the teenagers were literally given a slap on the wrist for beating this man to death. Four teens, including Donchak and Piekarsky, were previously charged in state court in connection with Ramirez's death. A jury cleared two other teens of all serious charges, and a fourth pleaded guilty to federal charges.
Piekarsky was acquitted by an all-white jury of third-degree murder and ethnic intimidation. Donchak was acquitted of aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation. Both youths were convicted of simple assault, which carry possible one or two year prison sentences. This was a travesty and it amounted to nothing more than a slap on the wrist for these two young thugs. Luis Ramirez life was worth much more than a simple battery conviction.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire